


we're the fortunate ones (spinning 'round the sun)

by AmyDancepantsPeralta



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Amy Santiago Loves Jake Peralta, B99 2020 Vision Challenge, Established Relationship, F/M, Jake Peralta Loves Amy Santiago, Mutual Pining, New Years Eves throughout every season, Peraltiago, Pre-Relationship, b99 fandom events
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-14
Updated: 2020-02-13
Packaged: 2021-02-25 01:27:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 21,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22247737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmyDancepantsPeralta/pseuds/AmyDancepantsPeralta
Summary: Peraltiago through the seasons, New Years Stylez.*now, with bonus epilogue - because I really cannot control myself.*
Relationships: Jake Peralta/Amy Santiago
Comments: 95
Kudos: 192





	1. with these things there's no telling

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there! This is (the beginning of) my entry into the B99 Fandom Events 2020 Vision Challenge, based on the theme _new_. And what's newer than New Years ... right? 
> 
> Each chapter will be a nod to each season, with various flavours of Peraltiago New Years Eves over time. It may not start out mega fluffy, but TRUST the fluff is to come! ♥️
> 
> (Also, timelines in B99 land are really hard to figure out sometimes, so hopefully I've lined everything up correctly!)
> 
> Most of this is done, so expect regular updates ... I just had to post the first chapter today, because JANUARY 14. 💕

**season one:with these things there’s no telling (we just have to wait and see)**

The first time Amy Santiago spends her New Year’s Eve with Jake Peralta, it happens completely without her volition. 

She had been working alongside Jake (and the other detectives at the nine-nine) for three years now, and until Captain McGintley decided to partner them up together, had been able to avoid sharing too many cases with him.Jake was, to use his own terms, a Lone Wolf - so determined to be the hero that ran in to save the day that he often left little to no regard for the consequences.It was entirely different to the way Amy preferred to operate, and it was just one of the reasons why they often butted heads. 

But a few months ago McGintley had retired, and Captain Holt (aka, her RABBI) had taken charge, and now the two of them were getting assigned together on a steady basis. 

To say her tolerance level had risen to an all-time high was an understatement. 

When the call had come in about a major drug bust going down on the docks at New Years Eve, Amy had been torn between the desire to be part of the action and the urge to lay low and attend the party her best friend Kylie had organised.In the end, tactical operations had won out over beer pong with strangers, and by 8pm she was in an unmarked car with Detective Daniels, making just enough small talk to make the passing time bearable. 

Until, Daniels got a personal call three hours in and had to leave, and Holt had called in the relief team.Which so happened to be Detective Peralta. 

In all honesty, Amy tries her very best to not let out a defeated sigh as her louder than normal partner jumps into the car, slinging a backpack undoubtedly filled with unnaturally-coloured drinks and bags of candy coated in sugar into the footwell before bending his legs and collapsing onto the seat.His smile is bright, but then it always is, and when she hands him the second pair of binoculars Amy notices how cold his hands are.

"The docks are cold at night" he mutters without prompting, and as Amy looks over him he shrugs. "You’re my partner. Even if I wasn’t in the stakeout with you, I was going to be around." It was an oddly mature thing for him to say, and she stares for a beat longer, blinking in confusion with her own binoculars still resting in her lap.Turning his attention to the docks in front of them, Jake gives Amy a glance from the side of his eyes before shifting uncomfortably in his seat, obviously aware of her staring, and after a minute Amy lifts her binoculars and points them directly at Jake. 

The image is distorted, obviously.If she turned the dial in the middle a little, it would focus on the flurry of curls in his overgrown hair; but for now she waits, and it only takes a few seconds before he sighs. 

“What are you doing, Santiago?”

She lowers the goggles, gripping them with her fingers as she stares her partner down.“I don’t get it.”

Jake turns to look at Amy, furrowing his brow and glancing at their surroundings before returning his attention to her.“See, how it works is … you point those things at the stuff that’s really far away, and they become bigger through the lens.”

“I don’t need you to explain telescopic imagery to me, Peralta.” Amy huffs, her exasperation obvious as she drops the binoculars to her lap, folding her arms to her chest accusingly.“I’m talking about you.You had the night off.You could be literally anywhere else in the city right now.Why were you waiting outside?”

Another shrug.“You’re my partner, and I thought you might have needed backup.”

“Nuh-uh.Not buying it.”Narrowing her eyes, she gasps as a realisation strikes her.“The bet!You know you’re going to lose, so you’re trying to steal these arrests from me.”Raising her hand, Amy points one neatly manicured finger at her partner.“Sabotage!That is the lowest of the lows, Peralta.You have every right to be nervous, because I am _clearly_ going to win this bet, but _taking them from me?_ Unbelievable.”

Jake rolls his eyes, shaking his head in disbelief as Amy talks, and the look on his face only irritates her further.“Ah, firstly?I’m all for a little bit of fantasy, but making yourself believe that you’re going to win this bet is just foolish, Santiago.I am _obviously_ the superior detective here.Secondly, I meant what I said earlier.You’re my partner.If you’re on a stakeout, _I’m_ on a stakeout.”He pauses, feigning interest in the roof of the unmarked car they were in before muttering, “Holt is turning me into a better cop, or … whatever.”

Amy lets a silence fall over the two of them as she absorbs his last statement, hands fiddling distractedly with the strap on her binoculars.She wasn’t wrong - this whole evening had been completely out of character for him.But maybe his constant trips into the captain’s office were finally beginning to sink in; and maybe Jake was beginning to realise that as strong as they are on their own, they were _far_ stronger as a team.She mumbles out a _thank you_ , and he waves his hand at her, reaching for the car stereo and turning it on.Instantly, music blares from the speakers.

“Peralta!” she whispers, brushing his hand away from the knob and turning the volume down as her eyes dart around the docks for anyone that might have heard something.“You’ll blow our cover!”

“It’s nearly midnight, Santiago.We were going to miss the countdown.”

“The only thing we were going to miss was the handover taking place, you doofus!”He stares her down, this time holding his own against her withering gaze, and finally she sighs in defeat.“Alright, fine.We can listen to the radio.But on LOW, Peralta.”

He rolls his eyes again, and honestly sometimes he is _just_ like a child, muttering “Fine, _mom_ ” as he turns the dial ever so slightly towards a higher volume.The music is gone, and two disc jockeys are talking in it’s place, reminding all their listeners that midnight was only three minutes away.

“Perfect timing!”Jake calls out, scooting his butt to the back of his seat as he leans down into the footwell, unzipping the backpack he’d dumped down there earlier and pulling out two small white cardboard boxes.Amy’s brows knit in confusion as she recognises the logo on the box - these were from Mia’s Brooklyn Bakery; a tiny little store about three blocks from her apartment, and her favourite place to sneak in a sweet treat.How _Jake_ knew that, was something she didn’t understand.

“That’s my - ”

“Your favourite bakery?”Jake interrupts, smiling when Amy nods quickly.“Yeah, I figured.I’ve noticed the box one or two times when you’ve brought in a snack from home, and I googled the place a little while ago.”Huh. _Maybe he wasn’t such a bad detective after all._ “And I just thought, being on duty and all, we can’t really have champagne to celebrate the new year … but there’s nothing in the guidelines about cupcakes, right?”

His smile is so sweet, and Amy can’t help but return it.“Right.”Jake hands her a box, smile breaking out into a grin as he settles back into his seat, and Amy can feel his eyes on her as she opens the lid.The cupcake is vanilla, swirled with a sweet pink buttercream and tiny glittery sparkles littering the top.It looks delicious, and is exactly what she needs right now.“This looks _amazing,_ ” she states, looking over at Jake as she lifts the treat out of it’s box.He’s done the same already, and holds his up to hers in a silent _cheers,_ peeling back the lining as the radio announcer reminds them there is one last minute until the countdown to 2014. 

She takes a bite of the cupcake, licking off a little bit of frosting that remained on her lips and raising her eyebrows in surprise as she begins to feel tiny bursts inside her mouth.Quickly, she turns towards Jake, swallowing as she cries out, “Pop rocks?!”

“ _Fireworks_ ,” he corrects her with a wink, taking his own oversized bite and giggling as the candy gets to work.“If we couldn’t get to the fireworks, then the fireworks were just going to have to come to us, Santiago.”

His enthusiasm is contagious, and Amy watches from her seat as he takes a swig of the orange soda he’d pulled from his bag to wash the cake down.It was different, seeing him in this light.Tonight, Peralta was more than just another detective from the precinct.He was her partner, who had sacrificed his New Years Eve to wait out in the cold, holding delicious snacks on standby and turning himself into the bright light that had warmed up her otherwise mediocre evening.He was still a man-child, but perhaps a slightly more mature man-child than she’d given him credit for, and … if she was being completely honest with herself?Just _a little bit_ handsome. 

Jake grins over at Amy as he returns his drink to the cup holder, and Amy can’t help but grin right back as she takes another bite, this time prepared for the miniature explosions as they pop against her tongue.A childlike giggle threatens to escape, and eagerly eats the remaining piece before the feeling fades.“This is _so good_!”

A terrible cover of Auld Lang Syne begins playing on the radio, interrupting their feast, and Jake wipes at the crumbs surrounding his mouth.He’s quiet as the song plays in the background, chewing on his lower lip before twisting towards her, resting his back against the car window.“Happy New Year, Amy.”

There’s a bunch of tiny explosions in her throat, and Amy wants to blame it on the cupcake but it just might be the tiny glimmer of _something_ in Jake’s eye.Taking a deep breath, Amy pauses before smiling back at her partner.“Happy New Year, Jake.”

The song cover turns into a dance mix, blasting through the tiny speakers as the DJ obviously raises the volume in studio, and both detectives screw their face up in disgust, Jake’s hand reaching the power button first.They sigh in relief as a silence falls over the vehicle, and quickly Jake reaches for the binoculars still in his lap, holding them against his face and switching seamlessly back to Detective Mode.“So no sign of our perps yet, huh?”

Amy clears her throat, mirroring Jake’s actions with her own pair of binoculars and aiming them towards the shipping containers set up along the edge of the dock.“No, I think the intel might be a bust.”Pulling the lens away slightly, she glances over at Jake before facing forward again.“Looks like you’ll have to figure out another way to beat me at this bet, Peralta.”

He scoffs, a loud _psh_ sound falling from his mouth.“Please.It’s you that needs to beat me, Santiago.In all seriousness, you really should be prepared for the _worst date of your life_.”

She can’t find the right thing to say in response (letting out a choked laugh instead), and so they get back to surveillance in silence, wrapping up the operation when Holt calls them in an hour later. 

It’s another two weeks before the bet is over and Amy is forced to concede defeat.And despite all of her reservations, she finds that a date with Jake Peralta and his crushing debt wasn’t nearly as bad as she let herself think it would be. 


	2. maybe I'm afraid of the way I love you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "He’s my partner, and we’re friends. It’s perfectly normal for friends to text each other.”
> 
> “Yep, sure.” Her brother nods, giving her that totally disbelieving look that he’s thrown at her a thousand times before, and Amy rolls her eyes in preparation for his inevitable comeback. “And friends totally get goopy-schmooey eyes whenever they see texts from each other. Blush and bite their lip and do all those other totally normal things that you’ve been doing all night.” He points with the hand still wrapped around his glass, one finger sticking out in accusation. “You’re not as sly as you think you are, detective.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who's up for some season two, pre-relationship but post-revelation pining? *raises hand*
> 
> Hope you enjoy! xx

**season two: maybe I’m afraid of the way I love you**

Amy drops with a heavy flop into the padded outdoor chair, ignoring the annoyed grunt that falls from her brother Chris’s mouth as she holds her wine glass high in one hand in order to save her drink from spilling.Mama Santiago’s Sangria was potent, but delicious, and needed to be Protected At All Costs.

“No please, don’t mind me at all.”Chris muttered, voice dripping with sarcasm as he scoots towards the other edge, creating a gap between them as he goes.

“Oh Chris,”Amy replies, twisting in her seat to face him and resting an unsteady hand on his cheek, the other raising her glass back up to her mouth for another sip.“You know, you might be brother number five, but you’re number one in my heart.” 

“Okay, yep.You’re definitely drunk.”

Amy giggles, swirling the liquid in her glass and giving her brother a shrug.“So what if I am?” 

It had been a long night at the Santiago household, with all of the family together under the one roof to celebrate the upcoming year.Earlier in the evening Amy had been lumped with the task of entertaining her multiple nieces and nephews (a number which appeared to keep growing, year by year), and she had been _so_ relieved when her fellow siblings had finally decided to pretend that 9pm was midnight, in the hopes that the children would crash right after.The result was a house littered with scattered remnants of party poppers and banners, but all Santiagos under the age of eighteen were now safely tucked into their beds, and Amy could finally toast to the end of 2014. 

And in all honesty, she was glad to see the year was finally over.It had been a confusing one, to say the least.Helped in no way at all by her trusted partner dropping a Romantic Stylez shaped bomb on her before going undercover for six months without another word. 

Extending his own drink out, Chris taps the edge of his glass against Amy’s, the tiny _clink_ so soft that the sound is barely audible.“Are we drinking to remember, or drinking to forget?”

Amy scrunches up her face, weighing out the options.She can still recall the moment with perfect clarity, all these months later.Standing outside the precinct, feeling the cool breeze against her skin as she stopped to wish her partner good luck on his assignment.The look on Jake’s face - oddly clear of all facades, with only a mixture of fear and hope remaining - as he told her how he felt.Her hand gripping the strap of her purse just that little bit tighter as he spoke, eyebrows bent with confusion as her overactive (and sometimes frustrating) partner said the last thing she’d expected him to say.The way her world seemed to shift from it’s comfortably slow and steady spin as he walked away, tilting onto an entirely new axis that pulled her into a stunned silence for _god knows how long_ \- breaking free only after a fellow officer passed her and wished her goodnight. 

And then there was Teddy.Sweet, safe, reliable Teddy.Who probably would have made an excellent (if not a little boring) long term boyfriend, if said partner hadn’t reappeared from undercover; denying then readmitting the truth behind his confession all within a day.Reminding her - without even trying - of a night not so long ago, conducting surveillance on a rooftop that had played on her mind for days afterwards, and the strange little skip her heart would sometimes do when Jake smiled at her like she was the only one in the room. 

So they’d broken up, in a spectacularly awkward evening far too far from home, and now she was single and he was dating the kind of woman you’d expect to see on a billboard somewhere.Jake was happy - _happy without Amy_ \- and no matter how hard she tried, Amy just could not get him out of her mind.

“Forget” she replies, draining her glass in one final gulp.“Definitely to forget.”

Chris nods, reaching for the pitcher on a nearby table and refilling Amy’s glass.“Drinking to forget it is.”

But try as she might, Amy _can’t_ forget.And as her phone buzzes against her thigh, from it’s position safely tucked into the front pocket of her jeans, she knows all the reasons why.

The texts between them had started out so simple earlier in the evening - Jake texting to double check that Amy hadn’t been called in to cover ‘ _some stupid assignment_ ’ because ‘ _working two new years in a row would be a crappy move on Holt’s part but not unlikely_ ’.It had been sweet of him to do so, and Amy hadn’t been able to stop smiling for a good ten minutes after she had responded, confirming that she was in fact nowhere near work this evening.

And then he had kept texting her, because it’s been close to four years working together now and somewhere along the way they had become friends as well as partners, and friends texted each other on New Years Eve.And maybe she should stop replying, so that he stops texting her - because she really needs to get over him and moments like these really weren’t helping - but also maybe she doesn’t want to stop at all. 

Pulling out her phone, Amy unlocks her screen and grins at the latest text: a gif, of a drunk woman dancing - obviously supposed to be her after three drinks.Completely ridiculous but also kind of hilarious and exactly what she’d expect to get from Jake after sending him a picture of her sangria. 

“Oh, I see - ” Chris’s insinuating voice breaks through the comfortable silence as he looks over Amy’s shoulder, sneaking a peak at her phone.“You’re trying to forget some _one_ , not some _thing_.”He raises an eyebrow, shaking his head.“You’re gonna need a lot more drinks then, chiquita.”

“I’m older than you, tonto.” Amy mutters, tapping out a quick reply and shoving her phone away before her brother can tease her any further.“And besides, there’s nothing to _‘get over’_.That was Jake.He’s my partner, and we’re friends.It’s perfectly normal for friends to text each other.”

“Yep, sure.”Her brother nods, giving her that totally disbelieving look that he’s thrown at her a thousand times before, and Amy rolls her eyes in preparation for his inevitable comeback.“And friends _totally_ get goopy-schmooey eyes whenever they see texts from each other.Blush and bite their lip and do all those other _totally normal_ things that you’ve been doing all night.”He points with the hand still wrapped around his glass, one finger sticking out in accusation.“You’re not as sly as you think you are, detective.”

“I so have _NOT_ done any of tha- okay fine, I like him.”Maybe it was the wine swimming around her belly, or maybe she was just so damn tired of hiding the reality of all of this even from herself.Whatever it is, Amy finds herself twisting in place, leaning towards her brother and divulging it all:from Jake’s admittance of feelings and Amy’s decision to keep dating Teddy; right down to the inevitably horrible breakup in front of Jake and his stupidly hot girlfriend.She ends it all with a sigh, finishing her drink in a single gulp and dumping the glass onto the table with a thud, dropping her head into her hands.“I like him _SO_ much, Chris.It’s just _the worst_ right now.We keep saying to each other that it’s in the past, but it isn’t really.Not for me, anyway.”

Her brother leans back in his chair, not speaking, and the silence is so deafening that Amy lifts her head to look over at him.With one hand resting against the armrest and the other stroking his chin, he appears deep in thought and (after what feels like forever) he clears his throat.“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you talk this way about a guy before.”

Flickering her eyes back to the glass, Amy shrugs in defeat.It would appear that Seven Drink Amy makes alcohol turn into truth serum. “In vino veritas, I guess.”

Chris nods, eyes trailing over to the game of cups that Tony and Ricardo are playing in the distance before returning back to Amy.“Maybe.Or maybe … there’s more on the line this time.He’s your partner, right?Once the two of you ring that bell, there wouldn’t be any turning back.And I think that scares the hell out of you.”

Amy nods, suddenly not trusting herself to respond.It _does_ scare the hell out of her.She’s seen it all fall apart so many times before - colleagues transferring departments when things turn sour; holiday parties with both sides avoiding each other.Not to mention the awkward distance she put between herself and Teddy whenever they were forced to cross paths.The thought of having to go through any of that with Jake … even if she took all of the Feels out of the equation, he is still one of her closest friends, and one of the few people who understand her for who she is.The thought of having to spend her day avoiding his smile, or to change precincts and move away from the people that have become her second family, made her feel physically ill.

She’s never been one to back down from a challenge.But maybe this time, the risks were too high to ignore. 

Looking over at Chris, Amy gives him what she _hopes_ is a convincingly carefree smile.“Never thought I’d hear such wisdom from you, _manito_.”

A steady hand reaches out, shoving Amy’s shoulder gently, and she laughs.“Whatever, Amy.”Chris mumbles, standing up to join their brothers.“Seriously, though.If this guy doesn’t come to his senses soon, it is absolutely his loss.We Santiagos are good people, and you’re the best sister I’ve ever known”

Type A Amy wants to pipe up with a correction, and remind her brother that she is, in fact, the _ONLY_ sister he’s ever known.But the sentiment is sweet, and her phone is buzzing in her pocket again, and so she smiles at her brother’s parting figure, digging into her pocket with an eagerness she doesn’t even try to hide. 

Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe this time, she was in over her head. 

Jake slides a palm against his face as he walks towards the bar, leaning against the granite top as he repeats his order and settles on a stool to wait.Tonight was dragging a little more than he had anticipated, and right now he needed a moment away from the crowd.

He knows, for all intent and purposes, that he should be out there mingling with the crowd.Making small talk with the relatively familiar faces of the people that made up Sophia’s office, and put on his best Perfect Boyfriend face.But as the night wears on, and he’s needed to encounter so many Ghosts of Courtrooms Past, it was getting increasingly difficult for him to pretend that he isn’t an island surrounded by a sea of monsters. 

(He’d texted something similar to Amy earlier in the evening, and she quoted some sort of poem about no men not being islands and _oh how she’s a dork_.)

The material of the tuxedo that Sophia made him rent rubs up against his wrist uncomfortably, and he fiddles with the inside seam as he waits.There was only ten minutes until 2015 would begin, and he wants to get these glasses of champagne over to Sophia before the clock ticks over.But there is one thing playing on his mind, and his fingers are itching to pull out his phone again and text Amy real quick - so under the guise of checking the time, he slides his phone from his pocket and begins typing rapidly. 

JP: _Do you know what I could really go for right now?_

Her reply is swift, and briefly Jake wonders why she isn’t busy this close to midnight.

AS: _No?_

A soft smile crosses over his face at the memory.

JP: _One of those firework cupcakes we had last year._

AS: _!!! The firework cupcakes! Honestly, those cupcakes were the best I’ve ever had._

JP: _The best I’ve ever had, title of my sextape_.

AS:🙄

His grin is bright as the bartender places two glasses of champagne in front of him, and Jake nods his thanks as he tucks his phone away again, grabbing the drinks and heading back into the fray.

Searching through the crowd, his eyes finally land on Sophia, her dark hair falling seamlessly down her back as she chats with her boss.She’d chosen a simple blue dress for the occasion, hugging her figure in a complimentary way, and Jake tries his best to forget that the first time he saw it on the hanger in her apartment his mind had flashed back to the plastic-polyester blended monstrosity that he’d forced Amy to wear when he’d won the bet. 

There were a lot of reasons why a detective of the NYPD dating a defence attorney wouldn’t work, but Jake is glad that the two of them are doing their best to prove it all wrong.Rosa had been right - the only way to move on from Amy was to move on, and Sophia had arrived into his life at just the right time.Sure, it wasn’t ideal that- despite their best efforts - they cannot seem to form a shared social group.And that conversations about work never ended amicably, or that sometimes the resulting silence stretched out for a little too long until one of them (usually Sophia) initiated sex.The point was, things were Totally Fine and he was definitely over Amy.

Sophia smiles at Jake as he hands her a glass of champagne, using her free hand to tuck the edge of his tuxedo collar down.“Thanks, Jake.Ready to count in 2015?”

Jake ignores the vibration of his phone in his pocket, smiling excitedly at his girlfriend as the band on stage begins to countdown.Sophia’s palm remains flat against his chest as they share a chaste kiss at the stroke of midnight, whispering _happy new year_ in that soft voice he’s grown so fond of, and when she steps away to wish her colleagues the same sentiment Jake begins to wonder if this could be the beginning of love.That maybe love was about compromise: about changing to fit into the other’s world.She seems to really like him, and he definitely likes her, and when they’re not avoiding certain topics they get on really well.It’s possible that this whole time, his impression of what love should be has been completely wrong … and it was time to try again.

There’s more buzzing in his pocket as an additional text comes through, and with a quick glance towards Sophia, Jake retrieves his phone again.It’s from Amy; this time accompanied with a selfie with her and several of her brothers, and Jake’s heart does a tiny backflip as he studies the photo of his partner.She looks so relaxed and happy, holding up a tiny sparkler to the camera, and briefly he’s taken back a year - to a moment in an unmarked police car with surprise cupcakes and absolutely no bad guys.A time before unsolicited admissions of affection and ‘ _maybe, yes, a little_ ’s.He scrolls ahead, reading the text below:

AS: _Happy New Year, Jake.Here’s to new beginnings._

And he’s definitely over it all, but Jake’s heart still beats just that little bit faster when he scrolls back up to her photo.Be that as it may, he’s here with Sophia; and the idea of the two of them together deserve a fighting chance, and so he sends Amy a quick reply before shoving his phone back into his pocket, distracting himself for the rest of the evening from the fact that he doesn’t hear from Amy again.

Meanwhile, on the other side of New York at her parent’s holiday house in The Hamptons, Amy switches her phone off - joining her brothers in a toast to the future, holding a single resolution in her head. One simple rule, that will avoid all the potential for mess and force her to get over her ridiculous crush because _no rule was made to be broken_ : no dating cops. 

If only she could have realised just how impossible that was going to be. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so just a quick note as I jump onto my tiny soap box: I know Jake ends up saying 'I love you' to Sophia, but he says it quickly, and in the middle of a sentence while talking with her and Terry and I just don't think he really understood the gravity of what he was saying. And then once it was out in the open, he references saying it a couple of more times and I think it's because it didn't seem so major ... and as much as his relationship with Sophia was good for him, I think there was still a tiny part of him that was never fully 'all in' - because, as we know, his heart belonged to Amy. So, I think maybe he loved the idea of Sophia, but not Sophia herself. And maybe I'm wrong but heyyy different opinions are what makes human nature strong, yeah? 
> 
> Anyway. Chapter title from 'Maybe I'm Amazed' by Sir Paul McCartney 🐞 Comments/kudos are always welcome (and treasured!) ♥️


	3. head over feet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake nods in approval, taking the empty glass from Amy’s hand and sitting it on top of the heavy brick balustrade. “Genius. My girlfriend’s a genius.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to drop a quick _thank you_ to all who have left me comments/kudos about this fic! It's been fun to go back and watch the series and fill in these tiny NYE gaps, and I hope you continue to enjoy! xx

**season three: head over feet**

Jake takes a long draft from the bottle of beer in his hand, resting his weight against the pillar in the middle of the room as he watches Amy talk to other attendees of the party in a corner. 

They’d all been roped into attending a New Years Eve party at this random loft in uptown NY, hosted by somebody that Gina called an acquaintance but didn’t seem to have a name (or a face, for that matter).It was all very upscale, the widespread apartment floor decked out in hipster-luxe decorations and soft popular music streaming from the speakers installed into various points of the ceiling.The well-stocked kitchen lay claim to copious buckets of alcohol - a virtual buffet of drinks lay waiting for consumption - and the Nine-Nine has spent the majority of their evening rubbing noses with a veritable ‘who’s who’ of New York.He’s covered head to toe in a suit that - let’s be honest - makes him look _way_ more suave than he is.And maybe Jake is completely biased (because he _definitely_ is), but he’s certain that Amy is by far the best dressed in the room.Heck, best dressed in the CITY.

Her dress is black, covered in this mystical shimmery material that seems to catch the light whenever she moves her body, and like a moth to a flame Jake is completely drawn to it.There’s a smokiness to her eyes (and he doesn’t even know if that’s the correct term but _wow those brown eyes of hers are drawing him in when they’re surrounded like that_ ) and her lips are covered in a hot red lipstick, the kind that doesn’t seem to end up on his lips when she kisses him - a theory that he’s been oh so happy to test over and over.Her hair is soft and wavy and perfect, just as perfect as she is, and Jake genuinely still cannot believe that Amy Santiago is his girlfriend.

It had taken him less than six days of being with her to figure out that what they had was different from all his past relationships.To realise that until _that_ kiss in the evidence lock-up, he had spent his whole life waiting for the rest of it to begin.Everything before that afternoon was Pre-Amy; where things were okay but often disappointing, and his days were best spent alone. 

Now, his life was entirely _with_ Amy:where mornings began with sleepy cuddles and regardless of whatever the day would bring, there was always going to be _her_ at the end of it.A crazy intelligent, incredibly sexy woman with a heart of gold; whom’s opinion meant far more to him than anybody else’s. 

And a life _Post_ -Amy?Not gonna happen.Jake would rather quit the force than consider it.He’d had a gun pointed at his head a week ago, and her face had been the only thing to flash through his mind.There have been very few times in Jake’s life where he’s been grateful for Boyle’s ability to appear unannounced, but that evening at Goodwin’s was absolutely at the top of the list.Thanks to Charles, Jake had been able to wake up Christmas morning with the most beautiful woman in New York laying next to him, and that was honestly better than a thousand bottles of Heart Attack Soda.

She catches his eye from her position across the room, blushing slightly underneath his gaze before turning her attention back to the two other guests she had been talking to.Jake stands a little taller and waits, knowing that her curiosity will grow too great, and after a beat her gorgeous eyes flicker back towards him and he smiles in victory, nodding his head towards the outside balcony in a wordless invitation.Tonight has been great, but the countdown to midnight is creeping closer, and there isn’t anybody else in the world he wants to share his first moments of the new year with. 

Amy turns her head back towards the woman to her left, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear before nodding vigorously, still giving the illusion of the others having her full attention because _Santiago’s are nothing if not gracious guests_ at any party.But it’s the only signal Jake needs to rest his now empty bottle of beer on a nearby table and head towards the balcony, shifting a nearby potted plant in front of the doorway as a hopeful deterrent to others. 

It only takes her a few minutes to join him, and Jake can smell her perfume before he can see her, the warm smell of spiced vanilla pulling his attention away from the glittering city lights below.

“Pot plant blockage, nice move detective.”Amy’s smile is coy, reaching out to smooth the tie he had begrudgingly put on earlier in the evening. 

Jake captures her hand as it moves to leave, pulling her palm up towards his lips and leaving a soft kiss against her skin.“Do you think it’ll work?”

Her fingers curl around his, tugging him a little closer as she shrugs.“It might.”Taking a sip from her champagne glass, she winks.“That, and just before I left I mentioned _how good_ the fireworks were going to look from that balcony on the other side.”Tipping the glass further back, she drains it all before continuing.“There’s a whole crowd heading that way as we speak.”

Jake nods in approval, taking the empty glass from Amy’s hand and sitting it on top of the heavy brick balustrade.“Genius.My girlfriend’s a genius.”

“Damn right she is.”

“And gorgeous.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Uh, _YEAH_.”Jake raises his eyebrows incredulously, lowering them with his voice as he wraps both hands around Amy’s waist.“And kinda amazing.Also?Brilliantly nerdy, and _sexy. as. hell_.”

Amy looks up at him with the softest smile on his face, a look similar to earlier today when she snoozed her alarm (something she’s begun doing with increased regularity, not that he will ever bring that to her attention), cuddled into Jake’s side and rested in the nook between his neck and his shoulders.It’s a place that has become _her_ nook - a place that feels empty when she’s not there - and she gave him the same smile as now when the alarm blared ten minutes later, and Jake was forced to finally open his eyes. 

There are a thousand things he could say right now, about how much Amy has changed his life for the better, but then her hands wander down his chest, diving underneath his jacket and wrapping around his midsection, and Jake finds himself completely lost for anything to say except the one thing that completely terrifies him.

He loves her.There’s no question about it.He’s probably been in love with her for longer than he can remember, but his heart had caught up with his head somewhere around October and for the longest time there have been three little words bubbling up to the top of his throat, threatening release every time Amy looks at him the way she does.It was different, this feeling - an all-consuming, undeniable force that has changed everything for the better, serving to remind him that whatever notion he had thought love to be before he’d started dating Amy had been _completely_ wrong. 

Emotions have never been comfortable for him; love has always seemed like a mysterious force before now, and he hates the defeated look that flashes across her face whenever she gets serious with her feelings and his doofus brain responds with a _noice_ or a _smort_.Amy deserves better than _smort_ and - in further proof that she is, in fact, _incredible_ \- being with her has made Jake begin to believe that perhaps he _can_ be honest with her about how he feels, and not fear the response.To tell her he loves her without masking it with a joke, or adding it into a ramble that steers her away from the importance of what he’s truly saying. 

Amy head rests against his chest and sighs contentedly, squeezing Jake softly.“Tonight has been fun, but this right here has been the best part by far.”He nods, throat heavy with unspoken words;letting his hands roam over the back of her dress and dipping to the small of her back before pulling her closer.The rest of the world can have all their sparklers and streamers; no amount of revelry could ever compare to _this_.This moment was all he could have hoped for, and he’s endlessly grateful to be able to say that it’s finally his.

In the distance Jake can hear the rest of the crowd counting down the final seconds, and as the world fades into the background with the muted sound of “ _eight, seven, six_ ” he looks down to Amy, resting one finger underneath her chin and tipping her face to his.Her eyes are sparkling, catching the light from the party still happening inside, and he doesn’t know how she’s done it but it’s just further proof that _she is magic_ and before another thought can be made, her hands are on his jawline, pulling Jake down until his lips meet hers for the kind of kiss he’s been waiting his whole life for. 

The crowd cheers, the renewal of another year long forgotten as their tongues tangle sweetly, arms locked around each other.Resolutions of catching bandits and jumping from rooftops fall by the wayside as Amy’s fingers run through Jake’s hair, and the only promise he makes for the new year is _make sure Amy knows how I really feel about her._

It’s a blinding bright flash of light that separates them, both blinking in confusion as they seperate and turn their heads towards the doorway it has come from.Boyle is standing there, because _of course he is_ , his grin wider than the Hudson as he lifts a polaroid camera in glee, snatching the photograph from the front and blowing gently onto the developing film. 

“Happy New Year, lovebirds!”

“Ugh, Boyle!How did you even know we were out here?!”Jake responds.He’s not ready to let go of Amy just yet, instead choosing to tighten his grip around her waist.She shuffles a little closer in kind, resting her weight against him and presenting a united front as they stare down their friend.

“I sensed there was a precious moment happening somewhere around here, Jakey, and let me tell you - I was _not_ wrong.I am SO high on your relationship it’s ridiculous.I cannot wait to frame this photo and put it on my desk, where I can stare at always!” 

“ _Jake!_ ” Amy whispers, soft enough that only Jake can hear, and he flattens one hand her back.

“I’m sure it’s a great shot buddy, how bout you come over here and show it to us?”Jake calls out to Boyle, throwing him his best ‘ _come over here and join us, we’re not angry at ALL that you ruined our private moment’_ face.It must have been convincing enough, and Charles scurries towards them, gripping the polaroid tightly in his dominant hand. 

Jake waits until Charles is close enough to feel comfortable before snatching the photo from his fingers, shifting his body (and by proxy, Amy’s) towards the light of the apartment as he examines it carefully. 

Admittedly, it’s a great shot - the two of them so wrapped up in each other that it’s hard to tell where Jake’s suit ends and Amy’s dress begins, save for the subtle sparkle of her outfit.Her head is tipped up where his is tipped down - the towering heels that Amy had chosen for the evening making the distance between them seem just that little bit smaller - and they are completely and totally lost in their kiss.It’s as plain as day that the two people in this photograph are in love, and Jake can’t help but smile as he takes it all in.“I’ve gotta hand it to you, Boyle.It’s a great photo.”

Charles nods eagerly, eyes widening into a mixture of confusion and horror as Jake flicks his wrist, tucking the polaroid into the inner pocket of his jacket lining, tapping the outside protectively as he goes.“Wait, no!That was going to - ” he huffs in frustration.“If you guys want me to stop staring at you in the precinct, then you need to give me an alternative, Jake!”

“How about a selfie?”Amy pipes up, pulling slightly away from Jake and resting her hand above his jacket’s breast pocket.“One of all three of us, to commemorate the evening.I think that would look _great_ on your desk, Charles.”

_Genius_ , Jake mouths in Amy’s direction as Boyle squeals in glee, quickly jumping into position in front of the couple and holding the camera up high.Their smiles are wide, the genuine happiness palpable through the film as they seperate, Jake linking his hand with Amy’s and letting Boyle lead them back into the party.Their friends were inside after all, waiting to celebrate the new year with them, and they could definitely sneak out of the party later once Four Drink Amy made her return appearance.

Jake had no idea what the new year would bring, but he had the strongest instinct that whatever would happen, he and Amy would face it all together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YAAAAY we've reached the seasons where they're dating! Fluff Town, here we come! 😄😍
> 
> (In all seriousness, I hope you enjoyed! Feel free to leave comments/kudos below. I love them all so!)
> 
> (chapter title by Alanis Morissette✌🏼)


	4. not a trace of doubt in my mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Music, total privacy, my sexy girlfriend dancing, and orange drank. This night is going to be amazing."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who had stopped by to give this a read! I hope you're enjoying so far! ♥️ Happy Chinese New Year! 🐀

**season four: not a trace of doubt in my mind**

There’s a photo of Jake and Amy that rests underneath a heart shaped magnet on the fridge in Amy’s kitchen.It’s been there since the previous year’s celebrations, anchored safely amongst the white metal after being rescued from the clutches of an overzealous friend, and for the past twelve months she has stared at it so often, it’s details are wholly committed to memory. 

It had only been taken a year ago today, but they seemed so young then; so carefree and in love - although neither of them had plucked up the courage to admit it yet. 

(That would come in another month or two, on a dance floor in the middle of the ocean where salsa dancing and bottomless shrimp were the most important things on their agenda).

With scarcely an inch between them, this frozen in time version of Jake and Amy were simply two people rejoicing the freedom that came with finally acknowledging - if not yet in words, then certainly in actions - how they really, truly felt about each other.Amy runs a finger along the edge of the photograph as she stands in front of it, lifting up the edges as though the movement could make her dress shimmer again like it had that night.She envies the couple in the frame - they hadn’t had any idea of what was to come.

But then of course, _nobody_ could have predicted six months of heartache.Of Amy laying in her bed night after night, wrapped in one of Jake’s hoodies zipped up so high that the scent of him completely surrounded her, staring at all the photos of the two of them on her phone until she cried herself to sleep.Of the pillow propped up in the bed beside her, pressed up against her back - a mediocre replacement for the real thing; but once she knew what it was like to sleep with Jake beside her, sleeping alone simply didn’t cut it. 

Months of dodging questions from family and friends and coming up with increasingly less plausible excuses every time his name came up, until finally under the cover of a room filled with music Amy had whispered the truth into her father’s ear, trusting that he would disseminate the information to the others with care.Jumping just a little bit every time the phone rang, constantly living in a state of fear that _this would be the phone call_ that told her what she was afraid of the most - that Figgis had found them, and that the only man she had ever loved this much had been killed.

And then suddenly, he had been there - standing in front of her in a storage shed in Florida with horrifically frosted tips in his hair and a look of shock on his face, clutching his throat in response to the punch she’d just delivered.He had been gasping for air, yet still he called out her name, and it was a sound she had begun to fear she would never hear again.

It would take a gunshot wound to his leg and a private moment underneath the flashing lights of the emergency response before either would feel like _them_ again; but on the flight back home with Jake next to her, right arm resting over her legs and fast asleep on her shoulder, Amy can feel the pieces of herself that had been shattered six months ago finally begin to rebuild. 

She can hear him in her bedroom now, his footsteps creaking against the hardwood as he dresses from his shower.It was comforting, to hear Jake move about with such familiarity - to open his own drawers and go to his section of the wardrobe: a part of him already living here long before any argument between who’s apartment they’re going to live in can be won. 

(And yes okay, Amy is always a fan of winning arguments.But _this_ argument in particular, she really _REALLY_ wanted to win.)

From the corner of her kitchen the radio that had been playing some pop song switches to an ad for grout replacement, the overloud voice of the owner blaring from it’s speakers and startling Amy out of her reverie.Tonight was New Year’s Eve, and despite numerous invitations from family and friends alike, Jake and Amy were spending the night in her apartment, just the two of them. He had suggested it a few weeks ago as the madness of the festive season had swirled around them:a night that was just for _them_ ; where they could drink and dance and sing and make love as much or as little as they liked, and nobody could interrupt.It had been such a sweetly romantic idea that Amy had pulled Jake in for a kiss as soon as he’d finished talking, and as of an hour ago both of their cell phones had been tucked away - do not disturb mode activated, not to be looked at again until the following morning. 

Reaching into the fridge for a bottle of orange soda, Amy glances one last time at the couple on the fridge as she closes the door, nodding her head to the beat as a new (and slightly more familiar) song starts playing on the radio.The rest of her body catches up as she moves around the room, pulling glasses from their cupboard and mixing the soda with spirits, preparing a drink for both her and Jake as she dances around the kitchen happily.

The cap has only just been screwed back onto the bottle when two strong arms wrap around her middle, the familiar warmth of _Jake_ enveloping Amy from all angles.His breath is hot on her skin as he drops a kiss to the side of her neck, lips trailing higher and nibbling gently on her ear.It’s a simple move, and one that he’s probably done a hundred times in the two years that they’ve been dating, but _oh, how it still gives her tingles._ He holds Amy close as she sways to the music, hips locking up against each other, and slowly she melts into his arms.

“Orange soda, huh?”Amy feels the vibration of Jake’s chest as he speaks, and she smiles. 

“I guess you could say I’ve grown accustomed to it.”Truth was, after Jake and Holt had been scurried into witsec, there were days that Amy had literally _craved_ the flavour, being so used to tasting it in Jake’s kisses.The oversized bottles that ended up monopolising the bottom shelf of her refrigerator had done very little to take the edge off - and served only as a placebo as she waited for her lover to come home. 

Jake lands another gentle kiss, this time to her shoulder, hunching slightly so that he can rest his chin there.“Music, total privacy, my sexy girlfriend dancing, and orange drank.This night is going to be amazing.Honestly, whoever thought of this is a damn _genius_.”

A contented laugh falls out of Amy’s mouth as she rests her hands against Jake’s, linking their fingers together and squeezing.“You just called my dancing sexy instead of dorky.You _must_ be in love.”

“Oh, completely.”Shifting his hands to her waist, Jake turns Amy gently until she’s facing him, gifting her with a glimpse of his beautiful smile before pulling her in for a heart-meltingly sweet kiss. 

He had held her _so_ tight the night he and Holt had to go away, tears streaming down his cheeks and pooling into her hair (only fair, because _her_ tears had turned his shirt into a sopping mess), his arms staying wrapped around her waist.His voice had been so heavy, so thick with emotion as he had looked her in the eyes, telling Amy that he needed her to know that she was _the love of his life_ , punctuating his declaration with a kiss that had nearly set her heart on fire. 

He’d repeated the sentiment the first night they were together again, finally alone in the private hospital room that Jake’s being in Witsec had been able to afford them.With only the steady beep of his heart rate monitor to keep them company, he had kept Amy close as he could while she lay on his good side, running his fingers through her hair and telling her over and over again how _he can’t believe that she is finally here_.In the quiet hours of the night she learnt it all - the hot tub burritos; the terrible pizza and constant layer of sweat that remained on his skin.Months on end where he couldn’t find the energy to get out of bed: that with not a single item of hers for him to cling to, the memories of them that would appear in his dreams was the only thing that kept him sane. 

But now finally - _finally!_ \- with the masks of Isabel Cortez and Larry Sherbet long since banished to the back of their minds - night shifts were officially over and life was returning to normal.And tonight was just for them.

There’s a steady tap against her kitchen window as rain falls quietly onto the world outside, and as Jake’s hands roam down from her waist and onto her butt, Amy sighs softly against his lips.With her fingers tangling through his freshly cut curls, she lets the kiss continue for a while, allowing her body to be pushed up against the counter until she needs to break away for air, smiling as Jake rests his forehead against hers.The pounding of his heart is obvious against her chest and Amy leans up for one more soft kiss, grateful to know that he is still just as affected by these moments as she is. 

Jake’s hands roam along the expanse of her back as he pulls away, his blinks as slow as his steps, and when Amy hands him a drink he smiles at her gratefully.His hand pauses mid-way to his lips, his eyebrows raising as he begins.“Oh!I set up a surprise for you in the living room.I meant to tell you earlier … I guess I got a little distracted,” he winks.Blushing, she takes Jake’s outstretched hand, squeezing his fingers and following him to her surprise.Her mind is doing a quick search on how long she’s been in the kitchen for - ie: how much of a mess could Jake have made in the living room - but no amount of calculations could prepare her for what her boyfriend leads her to.

He’d made a fort. 

In the middle of her living room stood a perfectly balanced mixture of blankets, pillows, fairy lights and bottles of wine.Propped up by several of her dining room chairs, a soft cream blanket stretched on one side all the way to her television, repositioned to sit opposite the sofa for Optimal Fort Viewing.On the coffee table sat a stack of DVDs (a healthy mix of her favourites and his) and two of her best-smelling candles were burning over in one corner - far enough away to be considered safe from being knocked over if any * _ahem_ * other stuff ended up happening. 

It was the most dreamy setup; and something that a few years ago would have seemed completely ridiculous, but now that she was with Jake everything that once appeared crazy now felt … kinda _perfect_. 

Amy turns towards Jake, the smile on her face growing larger by the second, and tugs him closer so she can deliver a gentle kiss to his lips.“This is _amazing_!” she whispers against him, and he nods, taking a quick sip of his drink before diving back in for another kiss. 

(And there it is - that familiar blended taste of _Jake_ and _orange_ _soda_ and _home.)_

She loves him, more than she thought was possible.Loves his happy smile; his arms that felt like they were made purely to wrap around her, and the way he looks at her like she just hung the moon (which, is obviously insanity - _clearly_ it was him).He bites his lip, that sweet little action that never fails to make her heart skip a beat, and another happy sigh escapes as he leads her to the little home he had built for them. 

Waiting until Amy has settled into her usual position - majority of her body leaning against his, lower body twisted slightly so that her right leg is thrown over his left - Jake dives into the edge of the couch cushions, digging until he pulls out his cell phone.

“Hey!You know the rules - no phones, Peralta!”she cries out indignantly, staring in horror. 

“Relax babe, it’s still on Do Not Disturb. I’m just going to order us dinner, and then it’s getting tucked right back into the bottom of Pillow Mountain, okay?”Amy’s eyes narrow at Jake’s response, studying the sincerity in his face before nodding.“So what are you feeling like?Pizza?Chinese?Polish?All of the above?”

Resting her head against Jake’s shoulder, Amy hums a non-committing sound.From beside her, Jake clears his throat.“Man, it’s a shame we can’t order from that Thai place that’s a couple of blocks from my apartment.You know, the one that doesn’t deliver but has the really good Pad See Ew that you love?Kinda makes you think that maybe moving into my place would be better, yeah?”

Amy moves quickly, lifting her head from his shoulder and dropping her mouth open at the sheer _audacity_ of his obvious tactic. _Two can play that game, buddy._ “Sure, sure, yeah.Except if we moved into _your_ apartment, we wouldn’t be able to go to the coffee shop that’s right around the corner from here.I’m sure you remember the one.It has those chocolate muffins you’re low-key addicted to, and makes that coffee you can’t get enough of … what did you call it again?Oh that’s right, the _Elixir of The Gods_.We definitely wouldn’t be able to stop there every morning if we didn’t live here.In this nice, spacious apartment that is definitely _not_ covered in black mould.”

Jake laughs, rolling his eyes slightly as he brings up the menu for the nearest pizza parlour on his phone.“Man, we are never going to come to an agreement on this one, are we?I’m going to Uber Eats this sitch and just order us pizza _and_ Polish.Calories don’t count over the festive period.That’s a fact.”

Amy nods, returning to her previously comfortable position.“Good plan, babe.”She pauses for a moment, shaking her head.“As the whole apartment thing, I don’t know what we’re going to do.”Her free hand snakes around Jake’s middle, resting her fingers along the side seam of his shirt and playing with the ridged material.“I just … I love this apartment.I’ve got a whole binder full of reasons why it was better than anything available in the market at the time.And you’ve got practically a wardrobe’s worth of stuff here already.”

“But mine is in a cooler neighbourhood, Ames!There are funky little pop-ups opening all the time.Any day now, there’s going to be a stationery store for you to become obsessed with - I can feel it.And … it’s cheaper, and closer, and …” Jake pauses, resting his palm on her knee and stroking there softly.“I guess, now that you’ve shown me how to handle my finances like an actual adult, I’m a little less willing to part with my money when there’s a perfectly good option available for way less dollars?”

An argument over mattress replays in the back of Amy’s mind, and in an effort to distract herself she cranes her neck slightly, beginning a trail of gentle kisses along the side of Jake’s neck.“We’d be sharing the rent, babe - not paying for two places we barely use.We’d actually be _saving_ money.”

She feels him swallow, Adam’s Apple bobbing and making his skin shift slightly as she continues her caresses.His voice is an octave lower when he finally speaks, the hand on her knee tightening its grip.“You know I can’t think straight when you’re doing that, babe.”

Amy nods.She does know.And so she continues, making sure he can feel her breath against him when she replies.“Just think about it, Jake.No thinking about which place to stay at each night, or having to buy two of everything in case you forget to bring it with you.Just you and me, and a place to call ours.”

Turning his head slightly, he captures Amy’s lips with his own, drawing her in for a heated kiss, moaning as his tongue laps gently at her lower lip.“Consider me waving the white flag for now.”

She grins, moving her hand upward until it rests against his chest.“Are you surrendering? You’ll move in here?”

“Wait, what?Oh, my bad.No white flag - Dido, nailed it - just ... no more apartment talk tonight, okay?”Jake raises his eyebrows, eyes turning that warm melted caramel colour that always seems to have a direct affect on her pulse.“I’ve thought of something _way_ better that we can do with our mouths.”

A tiny kaleidoscope of butterflies begin to dance around Amy’s stomach, and she _swears_ that she’s not a teenager sitting in front of her crush, but maybe tonight she is.Her body leans forward without prompting, and she murmurs - “What did you have in mind?”

He moves away from her just as quickly as she moves forward, swinging his arm out in front of them and crying out, “Smile, babe!” - clicking the shutter button on his phone before Amy has a chance to respond.It’s a mess of a photograph, blurry from the 0.03 seconds notice Jake gave before taking his shot, and Amy stares at him in confusion as he deletes the photograph, holding his phone out for another try.

“Ames?” He asks, raising his eyebrows at her digital reflection. 

Putting on her best affronted face, Amy shakes her head.“Weren’t we about to do something with our mouths, detective?”

His right eyebrow raises slightly, darting his eyes over to Amy before returning to his phone.“Ah, yeah?Smiling is something you do with your mouth, babe.Man, here I was thinking that _you_ were the smart one.”

Smiling in spite of herself, Amy shifts her eyes to the ceiling.“Whatever, Peralta.”

Jake’s breath is hot against her cheek, the sudden change kickstarting a parade of shivers down Amy’s spine.“Don’t think I couldn’t see what you were doing before with those neck kisses, _Santiago_.Payback’s a bitch.”Her head swivels towards the sound, mouth already open for comeback; and his lips capture hers before she has a chance to speak, drawing her in for a deep kiss.His tongue is gentle in it’s movements as it massages against hers, that familiar feeling of intimacy washing over her as he sighs softly into her mouth.She’s absolutely beaming by the time Jake pulls away, tucking her head into her little nook at the junction of his neck and shoulder and gazing happily at Jake’s phone as he holds it up again for one last attempt at a photo.It should have been impossible, to capture that amount of love in a single frame, but there it was - and only a few seconds later, it’s set as Jake’s screensaver, and Amy leans in to plant a tiny peck against the tip of his nose. 

“This is our first New Years Eve together where it’s just _us_.”Jake mumbles, tucking his phone back under Pillow Mountain and using his free hand to knead the back of his neck.“We’re at home, with nobody creeping around trying to take photos or whatever.”His eyes land on hers, and Amy couldn’t pull away from his stare even if she tried.“You’re not trying to find the man threatening to kill me, and I’m not halfway across the country with somebody else’s name pinned to my shirt.Tonight is just you and me, Ames … and it really felt like it needed commemorating.”

“Absolutely, babe.”Amy answers, leaning back in for another quick kiss.The minuscule bulbs that stretched out over the edge of the blankets cast his face in a soft glow when she pulls away, and briefly she’s transported back three years; to a patrol car in the middle of the night with only the light of the surrounding docks to keep them company.Things had been so different then, and yet somehow still the same.(Only now, they get to kiss each other.A _lot_.And honestly, it’s the best.)There were a lot of emotions swirling around her this evening, and for somebody who once knew the dictionary like the back of her hand, Amy is finding it strangely difficult to find the right words.“You’re my best friend, Jake Peralta, and the love of my life.You’re it for me.And there’s no place in the world I’d rather be tonight.”Her lips press against his again, moving her hands to the either side of his face as he blushes sweetly.“I’m so in love with you.Sneaky attempts at payback and all.”

Jake laughs, wrapping his arms around Amy’s waist and pulling her closer, pressing his lips against hers as she allows herself to be tugged into his lap.She can feel her whole body melting against his as her arms rest against his shoulders, bending until her fingers are in his hair and his soft sighs are mixing with her own.There are some things that Amy could spend the rest of her life doing, and this was very close to the top of the list. 

It’s a loud knock that eventually intrudes their makeout session, a mumbled delivery announcement barely audible over Amy’s TV playing in the background.Reluctantly, Amy pulls away from Jake, reaching down to muss his hair up one last time as she stands, stretching out her limbs before walking over to the door.

The delivery driver can’t have been any more than eighteen: obviously ecstatic about working on New Years Eve with his wet, crumpled uniform stretched out over a Pantera sweatshirt; grunting in Amy’s direction as she takes the items, already turning to leave before she can even say thank you.Kicking the door shut with her feet, Amy rests the pizza box along her stretched out forearm, balancing the container of pierogi’s on top and nudging open the lid so that she can breath in the familiar smell. 

_Mmmm._ They were obviously fresh - the steam still escaping - and they smelt just like she’d hoped.Her shoulder begin to jiggle and; foregoing plates and cutlery in favour of containers on the couch with Jake, she makes her way through to the living room, butt shaking into a happy dance as she goes. 

Jake looks up from pouring out two glasses of wine and winces in Amy’s direction.“Awww, honey.I don’t think that’s doing what you _think_ it’s doing for you.”

Bouncing onto the balls of her feet, Amy struts over to Jake with a curious look.“What do you mean?”

He slaps a hand against the edge of his mouth, splaying out his fingers in a weak attempt to conceal his grin.“You’ve got some real dorky dance moves happening right there, Ames.”

“Hey!Just earlier tonight you called my dancing SEXY!”

“I mean, _technically_ , I called YOU sexy, and then added the word dancing.But then you said something about me being in love and I just really, really wanted to kiss you, so I just kinda went with it.”His eyebrows lift, eyes turning soft as he takes in the pout that’s fallen over Amy’s face.“And … ya know, if it helps, everything about you is sexy, Ames.The dancing is just one of the more … I dunno, adorably _awkward_ things you do.”

Settling back into the couch, Amy watches her boyfriend spread out their dinner order, dutifully laying out napkins in front of each before dishing out a generous serve of pierogis onto hers, lifting the lid on his pizza and grinning at the well-stacked toppings.Pulling out a slice he grins in Amy’s direction as the melted cheese clings to the base, creating a curtain of strings between his hand and the box, and she cannot help but laugh at the joy on his face. _This man loves her_ , even with all of her dorky dance moves, and she just might be the luckiest woman on the planet. 

The hours of the night disappear amongst distractions; glasses of wine and hours of talking about everything and anything, until the quiet concentration of the last movie disappears into a serious session of kissing - Jake laying on the couch and Amy stretched out comfortably on top of him.It had felt like forever since they’d had the chance to spend a night like this, and as Jake’s gentle hands roam over Amy’s body, she silently wishes for the night to never end.The fort that he had made for them felt like a barrier - a shield protecting them from the rest of the world, and it might have been selfish; but tonight, this is exactly what they had needed. 

Tonight was about Jake and Amy: rejoicing in the fact that no matter how far the universe tried to pull them apart, the most simplest of truths was that they would always come back to each other.

Slowly, Amy rears her head back; dropping a soft kiss to Jake’s swollen lips when he cranes his neck forward in a search for more.Smiling, she presses her body against Jake’s, rolling her hips _just so_ and biting her lip at his responding moan.Beginning a trail of kisses along his jawline, she whispers into his ear - “C’mon, Peralta.Let’s go bring in this new year with a _bang_.”

“Oh, _hell_ yeah.”

Sometimes, the fireworks you make together are greater than anything the world can offer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was longer than anticipated but I guess that's what happens when I start writing about Domestic Peraltiago! Hopefully you all found it enjoyable 🥺 Comments/kudos are always appreciated 💕
> 
> Chapter title from I'm a Believer, by The Monkees/Smashmouth/Shrek/whichever tickles your fancy! 🤷♀️


	5. enough of this terror, we deserve to know light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “If you keep touching my back like that, Peralta, there is no way we’re making it to midnight.”
> 
> Jake laughs, dropping his hand to just the right spot on Amy’s lower back and pulling her closer. “We didn’t make it to midnight, Ames. If I’m remembering correctly, we didn’t even make it to _eight_.” 

**season five: enough of this terror, we deserve to know light**

Jake’s hand trails slowly up and down Amy’s back as they stand and talk to Terry, his movements ranging from palm-sized sweeps to finger tipped circles as the conversation wears on.One of his most favourite things in life is to listen to Amy flip into Nerd Mode, and right now her voice is bright and full of passion as she explains the origin of _Auld Lang Syne_ to her audience.

“So really, it’s about acknowledging days gone by and raising a glass to all the moments - good and bad - that have passed,”she concludes, glancing at Jake out of the corner of her eye as she raises her own glass in example.Moving his free hand back up towards the base of her neck Jake takes the cue, finishing his own drink and resisting the urge to curl a strand of Amy’s hair around his fingers as Terry bids farewell a moment later, leading Sharon over to the bar for refills.

Once they are alone Amy shifts her weight to her right, leaning into Jake’s touch as his hand moves to her shoulder, and he presses a soft kiss to her temple.Emptying her glass and abandoning it on the table next to Jake’s, Amy glances around quickly before looking up at him with those gorgeous brown eyes that never fail to pull him in deep.“If you keep touching my back like that, Peralta, there is no way we’re making it to midnight.”

Jake laughs, dropping his hand to just the right spot on Amy’s lower back and pulling her closer.“We _didn’t_ make it to midnight, Ames.If I’m remembering correctly, we didn’t even make it to _eight._ ”Her responding blush makes him grin, and he throws her a wink knowing full well that Amy’s reliving the same memory.

They’d both arrived home from work late (it’s almost as though the criminals of New York have _no respect_ for their plans), and in an attempt to save time Amy had squeezed herself in on Jake’s shower.And perhaps they’ve both been a little loved up lately - and maybe Amy just looked a little _too_ sexy all soaped up like that - because showering quickly turned into _other stuff_ and it hadn’t been long before Jake was being dragged out of the bathroom and into their bedroom (the rule was no sex in the shower after The Incident last June: fair, when he remembered the bruises they’d had in .. _places_ ).What happened next had been as awesome as ever, and if there hadn’t been a party they’d already said yes to, Jake would have found it far easier to convince Amy to stay right there in their bedroom for the rest of the evening. 

“You’re still not off the hook for that one, babe.”Amy mumbles, reaching up to fiddle with the collar of his shirt and bringing his attention back to the present.“We were _so_ late to the party, and I’m totally blaming that on you.”

“It’s New Year’s Eve, Ames.As long as we’re here before midnight, it’s totally fine.”He smiles at her, dropping his hand an inch lower as he rests his forehead briefly against hers.“And I think you’re forgetting _who_ initiated _what_ before, thank you very much.”

“Can a girl help it if her fiancée was particularly sweet at work today and she wanted to show her appreciation?”Tipping her head upwards, she bridges the gap between them with a kiss.“And besides, it was round two that made us late, and that one’s definitely on you.”

Jake’s heart skips a beat at the sound of _fiancée_ , part of his mind still in disbelief that such a title could belong to him - even if he was the one on bended knee in the first place.Grinning, he shrugs in surrender, gliding his palm over her lower back again.“Right right, fair call ... I guess the sight of _my_ fiancée in that setup you’ve got going on under there was just too much for me.”Amy laughs, her cheeks turning that soft pink that he loves to see, and he leans back in for another chaste kiss.

“Oh god, we’re totally that couple at the party that are all over each other, aren’t we?” she mumbles, tucking her head into Jake’s shoulder in faux shame.His smile is bright in response, sighing happily when Amy’s arms circle around his waist, telling him with her gentle grip that she has no intention of moving anytime soon.

“We _so_ are babe. But you know what?I am totally okay with it.” 

As Amy hums her assent, Jake’s eyes flicker around the room, taking in the black and gold decorations that covered a very good portion of the venue Boyle had rented for the night.He and Genevieve had gone all out this year, and once everyone learned to avoid the _truly_ strange options on the menu, it was turning out to be a genuinely enjoyable evening. 

He finds Rosa in one corner, the grip on her glass of whiskey tight as she stands listening to Gina, who is undoubtedly discussing the other party guests.Her stance is comfortable, and about as relaxed as Rosa gets,but still Jake waits until their eyes meet from across the room before he can be sure that she’s okay. 

Their casual nights of drinking in silence had increased since they’d gotten out of prison, only now they weren’t so silent.Memories of the darker moments behind bars would often stay collectively pooled at the bottom of their glasses, jumbling into a heap along the edge of their table before disappearing with the barman.As the weeks and months passed by there were little reminders that would strike unexpected, stinging like a starving animal gnawing at unhealed wounds. Other times they simmered slowly below the surface, waiting for the perfectly inopportune moment to strike. The scars were fading, but they were there, and her family's reaction to her coming out had not helped things at all.Surviving this year had brought them closer together, and with everyone around them happily celebrating the year that was, Jake wouldn’t have blamed Rosa for a second if she’d had the sudden urge to be Anywhere But Here. 

Gina turns her head to see where Rosa’s half smile is directed, and she gives Jake her best _I got this_ face when his eyes flicker over to her.The bright pink 2018 crown that she had worked into her hairstyle was doing it’s very best to attract just enough attention, glitter catching the light as the redhead gives he and Amy a once-over, shaking her head in mock disgust.He brushes off his oldest friend’s glare, rolling his eyes in a _completely_ mature response before returning his attention to Amy, tightening his grip around her in defiance.Gina didn’t understand what this evening meant to them, and in all honesty he didn’t need her to.

It had only been a few months ago that Jake had genuinely begun to believe that a life with Amy was only ever going to be a dream.The thing about prison was that it worked relentlessly at making sure that all inmates were aware that they’d become just another number - that the cement blocks that now made up your world would not acknowledge or mourn your disappearance when or if it occurred.Unsurprisingly, the nights had turned out to be the hardest, and his overactive mind would spiral around him as his deepest fears began to infiltrate - all with one undeniable theme: _you’re never going to make it out of here_.

But by the grace of all that is good - and a perhaps not-so-legal acquisition of information - Hawkins’ reign of terror had been brought crashing down, and both Jake and Rosa’s sentences had been overturned.Now; the air felt fresher, the sun looked brighter, and after a (slightly) hitch-less Halloween Heist, there was a sparkling diamond on Amy’s ring finger.This was going to be their only New Year’s Eve as an engaged couple, and wild horses couldn’t drag them away from each other tonight. 

Amy’s hands sweep along his waist as though she can sense what he’s thinking about (let’s face it: _she probably can_ ), and she raises up slightly, dropping a feather-light kiss to Jake’s neck before whispering “We should probably go and at least _pretend_ to socialise with the other guests, right?”

Shaking his head, Jake uses his free hand to curl the edges of her hair around his finger, the other maintaining it’s steady grip along her back, comfortable in the familiarity of her curves.She had been so much thinner when he’d gotten back from prison, his arms wrapping around her more than they’d used to.HIs observation of such on their first night back together had been shrugged off, added with the quiet admittance that _their phone calls had fed her more than food_ , and it had cut him to the quick.He’d counted far too many hours in scratchy orange jumpsuits, desperate in his need to clear his name from this wrongful persecution, but through it all his fight for a future with Amy had been paramount.To see the physical proof that all of this had affected her as well somehow hurt greater than anything else he’d had to endure.

From that night on, their healing had been slow - but it was always together.

Mimicking Jake’s shake of his head with her own, Amy rests her chin against his chest, looking up at Jake with such an abundance of love that he truly wonders what good deeds he’s done in his life to be rewarded with her heart.Amy Santiago was undoubtedly the love of his life - he’d known it long before he’d ever felt confident enough to say it out loud - and next year they were going to be make it official. 

“You know what?”Jake asked, cocking his head to the side slightly, grinning when Amy raises her eyebrows in a silent question.“In just 135 days, I’m gonna marry your butt _so hard_.”

“Oh yeah?”He nods his head enthusiastically, and Amy’s eyes begin to crinkle as she mirrors his grin.“That’s good to know, because in 136 days, I’ve got some pretty serious honeymoon sex planned for us. It would have been a shame for that to go to waste.”

“Not gonna lie, that sounds kinda amazing.”

“The binder I’m making is going to _blow. your. mind._ babe.”

Leaning down to kiss her, Jake whispers, “God I can’t wait to be your husband.”

It was true.Their wedding was going to be amazing (he’s been secretly compiling a list of Jock Jams to surprise Amy with, and its only halfway done yet already _awesome_ ), but truly Jake was beyond ready to be married.To wear a band on his finger that told the whole world that he loves one person above all others, and that person was Amy Santiago.To be able to refer to her as his wife, and to smile proudly when she called him her husband.They were the tiniest of things, but when it all came together it was a life he couldn’t wait to start. 

Amy smiles up at him, craning up on her toes to steal another kiss and Jake sighs happily against her mouth.Wiping off a smudge of lipstick from his lips as she pulls away, Amy shakes her head slowly.“You know, it really is ridiculous how corny we’re being tonight.”

Digging his teeth into his lower lip briefly, Jake glances around the room again before shrugging.“This is just our engage-moon period,” he states, and when Amy stares blankly he continues.“I mean … there’s always a honeymoon period after you get married, right?Then … by that logic there should be an engage-moon period, when you’re freshly engaged and everything just seems freakin’ _awesome_.”

Amy’s mouth turns down slightly as she studies him, that cute concentration face taking over her features, and if he didn’t love her enough already he might just love her _a little bit more_ as she nods in agreement.“You know what, you’re absolutely right.”

“And besides,” Jake continues, unable to contain his smile, “this year is going to be _amazing_.We’re going to get married, you’re going to become a sergeant -”

“We don’t know that, Jake …”

“ _You’re going to be a sergeant,”_ giving her a pointed look he carries on - “the nine-nine will continue to kick crime to the curb and you and I are going to have super-hot married sex in every single room in our apartment.” 

Her laughter is loud, the carefree giggles bouncing onto Jake’s chest as her body shakes, and Jake can’t help but join in.This is what he wanted - all day, every day, for as long as they both shall live. 

A steady voice breaks through their little bubble, interrupting their laughter with the statement - “If you two are about done with the lovey-dovey stuff, we can start counting down to the new year.”

Pulling away slightly, Amy wraps her right arm around Jake’s waist and clears her throat.“Oh, hey Gina.”With a smile, she accepts the glass of champagne that Rosa offers, taking a sip to distract herself from the embarrassment Jake can tell she’s feeling.

Reaching for the glass that Gina is holding out for him, Jake once again ignores her judgemental stare, choosing instead to secure his left arm around Amy’s shoulder in both comfort and solidarity.Let the world cringe at how ridiculously sappy they were being.If there was anything that the past year had taught him, it was that time was never guaranteed.And now that a happy future was finally in their grasp, he wasn't going to give it up for anything. 

The passing minutes are filled with casual conversation, ranging from stories about Gina’s newborn to the group comparing horror stories over what they’d discovered on the buffet, and as the hosts come over to join them, they begin to countdown to the end of 2017. 

When he looks back on photos from the evening, Jake can tell there was a cacophony of party poppers, blowers and calls of celebration, adding to the showers of confetti surrounding them all as the countdown falls to zero, but in all honesty the only thing that he can remember from that moment is _Amy_.Her hand, curled around a glass of champagne and pressed to his chest as he pulls her in for a kiss that he definitely intended to be sweet but suddenly turned into so much _more_.The feel of her lips, soft and bewitching as their tongues begin to tangle; her feet pressed in up against his own and her free hand touching his cheek, thumb stroking softly in the way that has always, _always_ made his heart pound like crazy. 

They weren’t often ones for such public displays of affection.But the past few years had tested them more than either could have expected, and it felt so good to show that FINALLY, _love was going to win._

Jake’s smile is wider than he can help by the time they pull away, and when Amy chases his lips for another quick press, he’s only too happy to oblige. 

“Happy New Year, Jake.”Her voice is soft, and her eyes are so bright and full of elation that Jake can’t help but lean in for another kiss.

“Happy New Year, Ames.”

Still holding the champagne, Amy wraps her arms carefully around Jake’s neck and grins.“We’re getting _married_ this year!”

“It’s gonna be the best year _ever_.”

The roll of Gina’s eyes is almost audible.“You guys are so gross.But you also look really happy, so I’m just going to let it slide for tonight.”With a shake of her head, she tips her glass upside down, shaking the last few drops into her mouth.“ _Damn,_ being a mother really changes you.”

Rosa chimes in, her tone as factual as ever as she nods her head in Charles’ direction “Also, you should probably know Boyle just took like twenty photos of the two of you kissing.”

“They’re for my scrapbook!”

“ _Dammit, Boyle!_ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I truly hope you enjoyed this one! Chapter title is from Ms Joanna Newsom's song Sawdust & Diamonds, because I realised recently I haven't used much of her lyrics and that truly is a travesty. Comments/kudos are loved and treasured and appreciated, but never expected. ♥️


	6. take your hands my dear, and place them both in mine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SEASON SEVEN IS SO CLOSE!!! I hope you can enjoy this chapter while waiting 😁 thank you for all your support and feedback, every single bit of it means the world to me!

**season six:take your hands my dear, and place them both in mine**

On the final afternoon of 2018, as the sky begins to turn soft with the muted pastels of fading sunlight, Amy Santiago watches from her position at the kitchen window while her husband plays with her nieces and nephews outside. 

Their squeals of laughter are contagious; the joy obvious as the sound filters through the glass and settles warm against her heart, and Amy can’t help but join in on the mirth as Jake picks up Luisa, carrying her like a superhero as they chase Matthew and Mason around the backyard. 

As the sunlight filters through the tall trees, a stray beam catches the stones in her engagement ring, setting off a sparkle that the line along her wedding band is only too happy to continue.Amy watches with a soft smile, moving her hand slowly to continue the show before returning to the task at hand.Around an hour ago she and her brothers had been relegated to Kitchen Duty, all marching dutifully into place at their mother’s command.Each sibling had been clearly marked on a colour co-ordinated roster alongside a specific set of duties, all very necessary and time reliant, and Amy couldn’t help but notice that none of her tasks involved the actual cooking of the meal. 

(Honestly.One time.You confuse salt for sugar _one. time._ and you get banished.For LIFE.)

After cutting up the beans and preparing the salad (from the ingredients that had been carefully and deliberately placed in front of her one item at a time by Tony, one of his jobs being _of course_ to supervise his sister), Amy had sought out the solitude of peeling all of the potatoes by the kitchen sink.It’s a task that once may have seemed like the worst of all of them - the sniggers of her younger brothers had _not_ fallen on deaf ears - but really Amy knew the joke was on them; because now, she had the best view of all.

Jake and Luisa had caught up to Mason by now and, after giving her the only type of landing appropriate for a superhero, they had immediately begun a tickle fight - Matthew jumping on top of the huddle quickly as Jake takes a step back to take a breath.With his hands on his hips he turns away from the children, looking back towards the house, and as he notices Amy watching from her window he raises his hand in a wave.His smile is wide and bright as he mimes exhaustion, wiping one hand across his brow while the other points at the tickle fight still in progress behind him.And although she knows he can’t hear her, Amy giggles at the sight, dropping the potato peeler into the sink so that she can wave right back. 

It had been Jake’s suggestion for all of the family to join together for New Year’s Eve, and Amy knew that it was partially because he was doing his best to keep the peace amongst himself and Camila, after his ‘ _and another thing’_ rant at dinner a few months ago. 

Thanksgiving had been interesting, if not a little tense, as her mother continued to give Jake pointed looks from her position across the table.But Amy had stayed right by Jake’s side, resting one hand on top of his thigh whenever his leg started to jiggle with pent-up nervous energy, and by the end of the evening - after a _lot_ of talking - all three were on (slightly) better terms.It may have been an awkward situation, but Amy didn’t regret Jake speaking up for her.Most - if not all - of the topics hadn’t been wrong; and in actuality, it had felt great to finally have somebody in her corner.He was trying, in so many ways, to get her parents to accept him as a part of their family (she had noticed the Duolingo app on his phone last week, and had already thought of some fun flash cards she could make), and it was about time that they met him half way.

She had reminded him late yesterday afternoon, after they’d finally made it to the Santiago home and found refuge in Amy’s childhood bedroom, that he needn’t try so hard to extend the olive branch.And while he had given her his best bashful look before changing the topic by pointing out her adorably hand-made scale of the periodic table, Amy knew that Jake was taking everything she said on board.Admittedly, it did feel kind of amazing to be together with all of her family for the celebrations - the first time in four years - but she wanted her husband to feel comfortable between these walls, for it was his home now as much as it was hers.And someday - perhaps even someday _soon_ \- they would be bringing their own children to family gatherings. 

Jake blows her a kiss from his position on the lawn, and Amy smiles brightly, crinkling her nose slightly as the joy overtakes her.There was such a stark difference to tonight’s planned festivities, compared to all those years ago when Amy was still very deeply pining for the man she could only call her partner.It was hard to imagine now, standing in the kitchen a newlywed with the feeling of her husband’s kiss still lingering on one cheek, that there was ever a time when Jake didn’t know just how much she loved him.Marrying him had been Amy’s easiest and greatest decision so far, and it seems crazy to her that she once believed that what she felt for Jake was ‘just a little crush that she needed to get over’.Clearly she had been naïve.There was simply no getting over Jake Peralta - her heart knew that now.

With his body still turned towards the window, Jake is completely unaware of his impending attacker - aka a surprisingly quiet Mason sneaking up on him from behind - and Amy can’t react fast enough to warn him as her nephew takes a running leap and knocks an innocent Jake to his knees.With a light-hearted shout of terror Jake lands onto the soft grass, calling out in protest to the mutiny as Luis’s two kids run over to join in on the fun, and suddenly Amy has lost all interest in preparing for dinner.Haphazardly running the peeler over the last few potatoes, she dumps the results in a bowl next to all the other vegetables, begging leave and dashing from the kitchen before her brothers can figure out where she’s going.If she was being honest, it probably _was_ for the best for her not be involved with food preparation - and besides, there was somewhere else she would _much_ rather be right now. 

It’s much later in the night before all of the family have come back together, adults and children alike converging on in the yard as Victor organises the fireworks he had pre-arranged (a Santiago is, of course, always prepared).Raising eight children had meant that he and Camila had needed to purchase a larger property than most, and it was times like these with the now extended brood stretched out across the lawn, that paying off their home for as many years as they did had turned out to be advantageous. 

Amy shivers slightly as the cool breeze cuts through her sweater, tucking herself into Jake’s warmth as he wraps one arm around her shoulder, an instinctive response to her chill.Feeling herself relax as the scent of his aftershave begins to wash over her, Amy cranes her neck upwards, shifting up to the tip of her toes in order to leave a quick kiss along Jake’s jawline.His lips move to meet hers before she can pull away, and Amy can’t help but smile at the familiar but still wonderful feeling of Jake’s kiss.

She can still recall the moment that she _knew_ that she wanted to marry Jake - and much like his moment with her crossword puzzle, it was as ordinary as any other moment in their day.They had been at Shaw’s, celebrating the closing of one case or another, and she had just set down her glass onto the table, a sudden tiredness washing over as the busier parts of her day finally caught up.She hadn’t said a word, had not even begun to lean her weight against her boyfriend’s steady presence from his position next to her, when Jake was sliding out of the booth, announcing that he and Amy were going to head home.He had stood up and turned towards her, holding out his hand with that beautiful smile of his, and in an instant Amy knew. _One day, this man that knew how to read her better than she knew how to read herself, was going to be her husband_ \- and it was as simple and as complicated as that. 

Jake knew all of her - all of the tiny details that when pushed together, made her complete - and loved each part wholeheartedly.He laughed at her jokes (even when they were terrible), danced with her at the most dorkiest of moments, and listened to her rant on about molecular theory and Venn diagrams like they were genuinely interesting topics.He made her feel _seen_ , more than Amy had ever felt growing up in a household of ten, and he was her best friend in every possible way.

She leaves a tiny kiss at the tip of his nose as they pull away and his skin turns an adorable shade of pink, just enough for her to notice underneath the garden lights, and she laughs as his arm moves down towards it’s favourite spot along her waist.Opening his mouth to start a retort, his eyebrows raise instead as he looks down to his right, noticing Amy’s youngest niece Nina tugging on his free hand.

“Tío Jake?” Nina asks, her voice sounding so delicate amongst all the adults, and Amy feels a surge of pride at hearing Jake being referred to as _Tío_.“Will you help me see the fireworks?” 

Looking around, Jake notices that all the younger Santiago children have been hoisted onto the shoulders of their parents, sitting tall above the crowd with their heads already focused steadily on the night sky.Nina had the unusual position of being a twin, and with her mother currently in the final stages of growing her little brother or sister, had lucked out on the chance to be on her father’s shoulders.It touched Amy - and Jake, she could tell from his expression - that Nina had turned to him for help, and before another word can be spoken Jake is nodding, stooping slightly to grip the five year old around her ribcage before lifting her gently onto his shoulders.

The rainbow coloured studs that lined the edge of Nina’s impossibly tiny sneakers catch the light as they swing in front of Jake’s chest, and as Victor heads back to his family to begin the countdown, they all join in.“Cinco, cuatro, tres ..” 

Amy loops an arm around Jake’s waist, smiling up at him as he counts down with the rest of the family.“Dos, uno!”With everyone cheering around them, Amy moves slightly to stand in front of Jake, pushing herself to meet him for a chaste _happy new year_ kiss as Nina claps above them.And then suddenly, the sky is alight with colour, and the crowd turns silent in awe. 

She knows that the first time she called a man beautiful that it was Holt, and it was her overactive brain blurting out words.But she’d owned that phrase since that day, only pulling it out when absolutely fitting, and tonight couldn’t be a better candidate.Her husband, standing tall with her ( _their_ ) niece on his shoulders, looked beautiful tonight.The colours of the fireworks flash against his skin as they light up the sky, reminding Amy of all the colours he’s brought into her life - of all the ways he’s changed her outlook from rigidly black and white to all the shades in-between. 

He was beautiful, for the way his eyes would light up with every _whizz_ of another round hurtling towards the stars.For the smile that grew larger still whenever the tiniest of sparks released a myriad of glittering sparkles, following their trajectory until they’d succumbed to the pull of the night sky and faded away.For the way his hands never loosened their steady grip around Nina’s legs, _so_ determined to make sure that she felt safe as she craned her body higher and higher towards the bright lights above, pointing out the shapes in the sky to any and all who would listen. 

The familiar smell of gunpowder begins to fill the air, and briefly it reminds Amy that she needs to go for platinum certification this year, but for now she buries her head in Jake’s shoulder, finding comfort in his presence and hoping that they can stay in this moment forever.

There was so much potential for what this year could bring, and with seven months of marriage under their sleeve and her biological clock beginning to tick just that little bit louder, Amy can’t help but begin to imagine them doing this all again in a few years time - only then, it will be _their_ child sitting on Jake’s shoulders. 

Children was still a little bit of an untouched subject for them - and admittedly, this was a massive oversight on her end; but when your boyfriend is given death threats and yanked away from you to live somewhere unknown under witness protection, only to return and get framed for a series of bank jobs, the bigger things tend to fall away and you just want to go and get married before the world can try to split you up again.But watching Jake right now as he reaches gently for Nina’s waist, muscles flexing as he lifts her wriggling body away and down towards the grass again, it’s hard for Amy to see a world where Jake _wouldn’t_ want to be a father.

Now that Jake’s hands are free, they wrap around Amy’s middle, pulling her closer as they stand and watch the last of the fireworks take flight.They breathe in the silence as the rest of the family begins to pull away - for bedtime was most definitely in order for a good percentage of tonight’s guests - taking advantage of the peace to pull each other in for a slightly longer celebratory kiss. 

It’s only a week later that they receive a package from Amy’s brother David, the padded envelope holding a beautiful shot of Amy and Jake holding each other as the remaining fireworks burst in front of them (and it’s perfect, because _of course_ David is a perfect photographer as well).And once upon a time, all that Amy would have seen in the shot was another example of how her brother was better than her in everything that he did.But now, as she searches through her storage cupboard to find the perfect frame for the photograph, all she can do is smile at the memory it held.

Perfection wasn’t real, and praise was fleeting.What she had with Jake was that all-consuming, forever type of love - and she wouldn’t change that for the world. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (chapter title from Dance Monkey by Tones & I, because it's a total ear worm and I kinda like the line)
> 
> okay so if we're talking timelines for S6, which was difficult to dissect, this needs to have taken place post honeymoon, but pre-casecation ... which means that as far as Amy knows, Jake appears on board for future babies. Confusing episodes aside, I'm looking forward to seeing what they do with this topic in S7!
> 
> As always (and forever!) comments/kudos are greatly appreciated but never expected. ♥️


	7. I love your precious heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was his home - he’d built a world between these four walls, with the love of his life - the only one to run a hand over his scars, both physical and mental, and still call him beautiful. His partner, in every way imaginable, and easily the greatest person he’s ever known. And just when he didn’t think she could be any more magic, she’d begun carrying their child, and now he is absolutely certain that Amy is completely made of stardust. 
> 
> Even when her hormones are out of control and she’s yelling at him for not mixing enough pickles into her ice cream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still quietly riding on the high of last week's episode - and undoubtedly I'm going to end up writing more about the events of this season in other fics, here is a slightly condensed version to continue with the NYE theme of this series ☺️
> 
> (title from INXS - Never Tear Us Apart 🇦🇺)

**season seven: i love your precious heart**

For the longest time, there was a part of Jake Peralta that genuinely didn’t believe he was deserving of any special kind of love or affection.Years of rejection; from the revolving doors made up of fathers, step-fathers and short-lived relationships, had led to the once quiet inner voices growing louder - reminding him every chance they could that any state of legitimate happiness simply was not meant for him.

(Dr. Marcia, the therapist he’s been seeing once a fortnight for a close to a year now, has helped him to understand this.)

This New Year’s Eve, standing here on the fire escape that runs along the outside of the apartment he shares with his wife, is not one of those moments. 

Their plans for the evening had skewed slightly from their original schedule, partially because Jake had heard the sighs of dejection Amy made when she’d returned yet another ill-fitting dress back into their wardrobe.Her body is changing in a lot of ways this year - some of them rapidly, others sneaking up on her so slowly it drove her insane - and when he remembered that Amy hadn’t really had the chance to go shopping for a decent range of maternity clothes yet, Jake had moved quickly to devise an alternative plan that seemed both spontaneous and _not-at-all-related_ to a lack of party outfit options. 

Pouring them each a glass of sparkling apple cider (if Amy can’t drink, then _Jake_ can’t drink - and he’s not interested in hearing arguments that suggest otherwise), he had googled events that were happening nearby, found one with fireworks, and with his _brilliant_ detective skills had deduced that their fire escape will face exactly the right direction to watch the show without ever having to leave their house.And maybe Amy had already been hoping that he would come to the same conclusion, or maybe she was just a really big fan of fire escape parties (he suspects, though, that it is the former) but either way, her dress had been swapped for sweatpants within minutes of Jake’s suggestion, and the relaxation on her face simply made her all the more beautiful.

They’d spent the entire evening rotating between the living room and the tiny space outside that Jake had stocked up with blankets and snacks, talking and laughing as they reminisced the year that was.There had even been a sweet little slow dance, to a song playing on Jake’s phone as it stayed nestled in his pocket - and it would have been totally romantic, if it hadn’t been interrupted by some dude yarfing onto the street below. Still, the feeling of holding his wife in his arms, while their baby stayed nestled in-between them, was something that Jake will hold onto forever. 

The breeze has grown colder now, the wind rustling through Jake’s hair as he waits for Amy to return from her seventeenth trip to the bathroom (sadly, _not_ an exaggeration), and as he reaches into the storage box for another blanket for his wife, Jake finds himself looking back on the last few months with a smile.Even now, there’s a tiny piece of his mind that is still incredulous that she is pregnant - that the two of them are _having a baby_.In just four short months, there will be a tiny human that is part Amy, part Jake and wholly _them_ , and he’s never ever been more excited for the future. 

He can still recall the moment it had all changed for the better - when Amy had turned to him with the brightest smile he had ever seen, and nodded her head.He’d sat beside her on the floor of their bathroom for longer than he’d realised, staring at the plastic stick with it’s stamped lettering and two thin red lines that told him that _Amy was pregnant_.His eyes had kept darting from left to right, his brain frantically trying to reassure himself that he was, in fact, reading it all correctly.That the love of his life was carrying his child, and the world as he knew it was never going to be the same again.It just … hadn’t made any sense, how easily it had all changed.Every part of his life involved filling out some sort of paperwork or prior approval or whatever - it was a reality that he merely tolerated, but Amy adored.But, in the blink of an eye (and a round of admittedly _great_ sex), Jake Peralta was going to be a father. 

Deciding to start trying had been one of the most uncomplicated decisions of his life, and one that he hasn’t reconsidered for a second (it had surprised him at first, how easily it came to him - but that’s the thing about finally being in a secure relationship.Even the things that terrified him the most, suddenly didn’t seem so bad when he knew Amy would be by his side).But it had stunned him, how in just one moment, seeing the word _pregnant_ on a little piece of plastic had made him fall in love with something (or some _one_ , really) that he hadn’t even met. 

He had known, in approximately 0.0003 seconds after seeing their daughter for the very first time on the ultrasound screen, that he wouldn’t _ever_ do anything that could hurt her.That he will fight for her safety and security, with every fibre of his being, until the very last day of his life.This tiny little shadow on the screen, with it’s echoing heartbeat and what thankfully looked to be Amy’s nose, was now the single-most greatest thing that Jake had ever done: and nothing was ever going to change that.These past few months have made Jake understand his father even less, and appreciate Amy all the more, if for nothing else than the fact that she’d given Jake a second chance to show just how capable - and deserving - of love he can be. 

Hearing a soft grunt to his left, Jake turns his head in time to see Amy wriggling through the window frame, the swell of her belly turning what used to be an easy move into something that requires a little more finesse.There’s a soft metallic thud that reverberates towards the empty streets below as both of her slipper covered feet hit the gridded surface, and she grins in triumph before making her way over to Jake. 

“Starting to get over this whole ‘needing to pee every half hour’ thing that I’ve got going on.”

Grinning, Jake leans against the balustrade of their makeshift balcony, ignoring the gentle dig of the metal against his skin.“I mean, you know my feelings about water, hun.”

Raising an eyebrow, Amy shakes her head in response.“Hate to tell you this, but all I’ve been drinking today is orange soda - and we both know that’s your genes at play here, Peralta.”Amy winks at Jake’s responsive wince, cupping his chin in her hand as she pulls him closer for a quick kiss.“It’s a good thing that I love you, huh?”

“Oh, it’s a _very_ good thing, Ames.”The best thing _ever_ , actually, that she loves him.She tells him a lot - even more so since falling pregnant, a side effect that has been hated by absolutely no-one - and every time feels better than the last. 

A car passes them below, the loud music pumping from the speakers and filtering it’s way up to the two of them, and Amy looks down at her sweats, turning to give Jake an apprehensive look.“What a wild New Year’s Eve we’ve ended up having.Maybe we should have gone to Terry’s party after all?I mean, it _is_ the last child free one we’re going to have for a _long_ time.”

Slinging an arm around Amy’s shoulders, Jake pulls her closer to him, smiling as her hand wraps around his waist in a move that is absolutely second nature.“No way, Ames.I’ve got my two best girls here with me, and in five minutes I’m going to have the greatest seats in New York as that building over there lets off fireworks from their roof.Terry’s party can suck it.” 

Right now, a bunch of fugitives could climb out from the sewer clutching diamonds from the biggest jeweller in town, and he wouldn’t move.Bruce Willis himself could knock on the door, and Jake would tell him that he needed to come back tomorrow (please, please _, please - come back tomorrow_ ). 

This was his home - he’d built a world between these four walls, with the love of his life - the only one to run a hand over his scars, both physical and mental, and still call him beautiful.His partner, in every way imaginable, and easily the greatest person he’s ever known.And just when he didn’t think she could be any more magic, she’d begun carrying their child, and now he is absolutely certain that Amy is completely made of stardust. 

Even when her hormones are out of control, and she’s yelling at him for not mixing enough pickles into her ice cream.

There was nowhere he’d rather be, and nobody he’d rather be with.Literally everything he needed, for the rest of his life, was right here in his arms. 

(Okay yes, technically he would eventually need orange soda and gummy worms and maybe some water if Amy insisted.But there was a healthy stock of all that in their kitchen, and by ‘right here’ he _obviously_ means their apartment.)

Amy hums - this sweet little _hmmm_ ing sound that Jake knows to mean contentment ever since he heard it on their first night together, a sound that he’s heard a million times since then and just never, ever fails to _transcend_ him - and she leans a little more of her body weight against him, blinking slowly as fatigue begins to set in.There were countless books and testimonials that told them to get as much sleep as they could, because once the baby came sleep would become a long-lost memory, and Jake could tell that Amy was secretly dying to curl up into bed.Baby-growing, it would seem, was a highly exhaustive task - and in all honesty the idea of curling up underneath the blanket with her for the rest of the evening sounded kind of amazing.

Jake’s just about to suggest a retreat to their bedroom when he hears the first _whoosh_ of a firework streaking through the sky, the subsequent explosion of light piercing his eyes as tiny blue stars litter their previously dark canvas.Either the revellers had decided to celebrate early, or his watch was slow (entirely possible, he’d bought it for three whole dollars at their local bodega) - whatever the reason, Jake cannot help the smile that stretches across his face as more colours begin to light the sky. 

Now completely awake, Amy moves closer still to Jake, standing in front of him and gripping his forearms in her hands when they wrap around her clavicle.From behind Jake can hear her tiny gasps as each _bang_ and _pop_ takes place, and after a minute he cries out in surprise, moving quickly to place his hands on either side of Amy’s pregnant belly in a protective stance.

Shifting her head to the side, Amy looks at Jake in confusion, pointing downwards.“What’s with the sudden coverage, babe?”

Eyes wide and earnest, Jake nods in the direction of his hands, explaining - “I’ve got to protect the baby’s ears, Ames!These fireworks are _loud_ \- and what if she’s asleep right now?She’s part Peralta, and you and I both know Peraltas are NOT a fan of being woken up.”

Amy laughs, her nose crinkling up in that completely adorable way that Jake absolutely loves, shaking her head as her fingers link with his on either side of her bump.“Our baby is totally fine in there, Jake.But I love you so much for thinking of her right now.”There’s a slight shift underneath Jake’s hands, and he can’t be sure if it’s a kick of just a general nudge from their daughter, but either way he takes it as a sign that their little one agrees with Amy’s statement.Nodding; he smiles at Amy, suddenly feeling a little foolish - but perhaps, he’s just foolishly in love.Above them, the fireworks continue to explode, only now they don’t seem so loud.

Moving one hand away from his, Amy cups the back of Jake’s neck, gently pulling him downwards for a soft kiss.“Only five months in, and you’re already the greatest dad _ever_ ,” she whispers against his lips, pressing against them with her own once more.He’s blushing by the time she pulls away, he can feel it in the sudden tingle of his cheeks, but all he can think about is the title _greatest dad ever_ , and how much he can’t wait until those very words are emblazoned on a mug or some other kind of gift their child decides to buy him.He wants it on hats, and shirts, on socks and a keyring and everywhere in between - because when it came to Jake and fatherhood, there was not a chance in hell that history was going to end up repeating. 

“Hey,” came Amy’s soft voice, pulling Jake out of his thoughts as her fingers return to the back of his neck and toy with the curls that live along the bottom of his hairline.Briefly, he remembers that he meant to get his hair cut two weeks ago.“You okay, babe?”

Taking a deep breath, Jake smiles and nods, waiting until Amy has turned to face him completely before tucking a stray strand of hair back behind her ear.“Happy New Year, Ames.I know I’ve said this before, but this year is going to be totally amazing.”

Amy nods back, giggling as Jake swoops in for a kiss.“I’m going to remember this moment when we’re elbow deep in dirty diapers and our eyelids are being held up by toothpicks.”

Joining in on Amy’s laughter, Jake shrugs his shoulders in defeat.“This is probably going to sound insane, and I’m definitely going to deny I ever said this when we’re in that situation; but even that sounds a little bit awesome, because it’ll mean that she’s here and we can hold her and talk to her and just _love_ her for reals.”

“Totally insane, and I completely agree.”

It’s less than an hour later that both Jake and Amy are tucked into bed, the sound of Amy’s gentle snores lulling Jake to sleep as 2020 begins to stretch her limbs.Their apartment is quiet, but filled to the brim with love - right down to the printed sonogram, sharing the space of a heart-shaped magnet with a photo of a young couple falling for each other - and there is a small room adjacent to the kitchen that is almost ready for it’s tiny occupant to arrive. 

As his eyelids grow heavy, Jake thinks back to all the years he and Amy had spent together, and how many times they’ve had to push back against all the things that have tried to keep them apart.He knows now that it was worth it - _all of it was worth it_ \- because truly, the best was yet to come. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I say it a lot, but I can't help it - thank you to all of you. You're wonderful 💕 Your comments/feedback have been so instrumental and valuable and I'm incredibly grateful for it all!


	8. you're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I still can’t believe we made her.”
> 
> “I know.”
> 
> “And that it’s been eight months already.”
> 
> “I _know_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> y'all didn't think I'd miss out on a chance to write something for the (already! confirmed! blessed!) upcoming season eight, did ya? 😁

** season eight: you’re the closest to heaven that I’ll ever be **

On New Years Eve of 2020, the Santiago-Peralta household is strangely quiet. 

In the tastefully decorated living room a brightly coloured activity centre, complete with musical panels, sits neatly beside the beige sofa.Three of the warmest blankets in Brooklyn share space with a knitted Ninja Turtle themed throw, and strapped to the door frame of the reading room Amy had once considered her favourite space is a purple and yellow Jolly Jumper,a myriad of sensory developmental toys clipped along it’s edges. 

There are five different flavours of baby food on the kitchen counter waiting to be put away, and the bedazzled invitation to Gina Linetti’s 2021-a-thon lays forgotten to the side, mixed in with the letters and correspondences that neither Jake or Amy have done more than skim their eyes over.Above the counter, below the precision-timed clock, hangs a framed photograph of the two of them on the night of their wedding, the happy glow of a freshly married couple still noticeable all these years later. 

Having just hung up from an unnecessarily long conversation with her mother, Amy leans against the kitchen counter, sighing at the familiarity of the curved granite meeting her lower back.Mama Santiago means well; and as the mother of eight and abuela to five, has a lot of valuable tips and tricks up her sleeve.But this is Amy’s first child, and as much as she wants to do everything exactly right, she also wants her and Jake to figure things out as they go.A statement she’d had to repeat approximately _eighty-nine times_ to Camila during that last phone call. 

Twisting the rings on her finger, Amy smiles at the thought of all that she and Jake had been through in the past year.At eight months, their daughter Mia was tiny but _fierce_ , and motherhood was both everything and absolutely nothing like she’d expected it to be. 

There had been offers to babysit from friends and family alike in the last few weeks, but all of them had been met with a polite shake of both her and Jake’s heads.Sure, there were a lot of places that they could be tonight - and they’re probably missing out on an interesting experience at Gina’s - but truthfully, tonight there is nowhere they’d rather be than home.

(With any luck, they’d have their own wild night - and by _wild,_ she means _uninterrupted sleep for the next ten to twelve hours_.Baby Mia had only just begun to sleep through the night, and both Amy and Jake were approximately 4,167 hours behind on their own slumber.)

Shaking off the last remnants of the phone call from her body, Amy tucks her hair behind one ear and looks around the kitchen, noticing the bottle of champagne that her husband had pulled out of the chiller earlier was still sitting to the side, unattended next to a spare lid for their daughter’s favourite bottle.Pouting her lips slightly, she glances at the clock, noting from it’s steady _tick_ that it had been a good half hour since she’d heard from either Jake - and while silence in a house with a baby is usually a good thing, she’s also really curious what could be holding him up, and so Amy grabs the champagne with her left hand, shoving her phone into the pocket of her sweats with the other. 

The condensation from the neck of the bottle drips onto Amy’s fingers as she makes her way down the short hallway, her socked feet moving carefully across the floor lest a squeaky floorboard should wake their sleeping beauty.Amy cranes her neck around the doorway once she’s reached her destination, and the sight inside simply makes her heart melt.

Jake sits inside their daughter’s room, on the oversized plush chair that a very pregnant Amy had insisted they buy, his eyes trained solely on their sleeping daughter.The delicately embroidered pillow made by Camila, with Mia’s name sewn in shimmering thread, remained gripped in his hands, his body leaning forwards as though at any given second he was going to climb into the cot and join their daughter.His eyes are soft when they flicker over to her, and he shrugs, giving Amy a sheepish look before turning back to Mia.“I just can’t stop watching her sleep.She’s so beautiful, Ames.”

Humming her agreement, Amy tiptoes into the room.While a relatively tight budget had meant that the nursery had remained the same colour as the rest of their apartment, she and Jake had chosen softer toned items for all the trimmings, and the mixture of excerpts from some of her favourite children’s authors and photographs of family that lined the walls never failed to bring her a sense of calm.Running her free hand along the edge of the dresser, she toys with the neatly folded onesie Jake had placed there earlier in the evening before resting the champagne bottle beside it, moving to stand beside her husband and run her hand through his hair.He was absolutely besotted with their little girl, and it was her favourite thing in the world to see.

Jake starts at the moistness of her fingers, looking up at Amy before noticing the champagne and he rubs his face in exhaustion, wedding band glinting in the soft light from the lamp set up behind him.“Oh right, I’d _completely_ forgotten that I opened that before I put Mia to bed.”

Shrugging, Amy points her chin towards their daughter, moving both hands to Jake’s shoulders as she replies.“It’s a good thing you did, really.A popping champagne cork would _definitely_ have meant saying good-bye to a sleeping Mia for the rest of the night.”

His laugh is soft as he nods, the memories of the first few nights with a screaming newborn still very fresh in both of their minds.“It’s crazy, though … how much I miss her when she’s literally _right there_.”

Amy’s heart swells to twice it’s normal size, thrumming against her rib cage as it tries to compensate for the sudden and overpowering amount of love she feels for her husband.She understands all the reasons why there was a part of Jake that was worried he would turn out to be a terrible father, but _oh, how she wishes he could hear how sweetly he talks about their daughter._ Turning slightly, she grabs the bottle of champagne and nudges Jake over on the plush seat, rubbing her shoulder against his as she settles into place.One of her favourite things about this chair - and the reason she’d been so insistent on buying it - was the fact that it was just big enough for two (if they snuggled); and in moments like this Amy would definitely consider it a worthy investment. 

Reaching for the bottle and taking a slow swig, Jake uses his free hand to rest against Amy’s thigh, fingers tracing gentle patterns that she knows are unconsciously done.(They’d been together so long now that each of their bodies was an extension of the others, and she liked to think that the tiny swirls he made were representative to the myriad of coils in his mind, stretching and unfurling comfortably whenever she was around.)In front of them, resting her tiny head in the cot that Jake had put together (and definitely hadn’t lost his cool whilst doing so), was their baby girl - and she was literally _the most beautiful thing_.

“I still can’t believe we made her.”

“I know.”

“And that it’s been eight months already.”

“I _know._ ”

Jake smiles, nudging the frame of his glasses up with the edge of his finger (a Tired Jake at home has no time for contacts).“She gave me the biggest smile tonight, when I lay her down and kissed her goodnight.It was like she was saying ‘goodnight, daddy!’ … without being able to actually say it, ya know?”His face scrunches.“God, I sound really stupid right now.”

Amy shakes her head, unable to keep the blissful smile from stretching across her face.“Not at all.This morning, I _swear_ she almost said ‘mama’, but then she just kinda spit up everywhere.”

His shoulders shaking as he chuckles, Jake turns his head slightly to leave a commiserative kiss on Amy’s temple.“I’m sure she was trying to say it anyway, babe.”

Shrugging one shoulder, Amy looks up at her husband with a smile.“Maybe, but I doubt it. Her first word is _definitely_ going to be Dada.”At Jake’s incredulous shake of his head, Amy persists.“She literally lights up when she sees you, babe.It’s adorable.You’re going to get first word, and I am _totally_ okay with it.”

(Her first word, when she says it in a few weeks time, is in fact _baba_ \- aka, her bottle.But, it’s totally a compromise between _mama_ and _dada_ , and the parents take it with glee.)

Picking up the blanket mysteriously knitted by Tia Rosa, Jake drapes the material over Amy’s legs before clearing his throat.“So earlier this evening, I was scrolling through Facebook, and the sweetest photo came up on my timeline.”He pauses, digging for his phone and unlocking the screen with the dexterity of a man who has _definitely_ trained himself to text without looking down.“See?” He continues, holding up the selfie he’d posted of the two of them last year, the festoon lights strung out on the fire escape casting their faces in a cool glow as they grinned up at the camera.“Hard to believe this was only a year ago, right?What a difference between then and now.”

“Oh god, that feels like forever ago,” Amy murmurs, her eyes running over the image as the memory of that night washes over her - right down to the feeling of their daughter still nestled in safely.“You were right, though.This year has been _amazing._ Even if we’ve forgotten what it’s like to have a quiet home for longer than five hours.”

“An amazing night is just another Peralta Guarantee, babe.”Jake winks, grinning.“And as crazy as it sounds, I’m all in for that screaming, Ames.I mean ... I’d like it a lot more if it was two in the afternoon, and not _morning_ , but I’m here for it all the same.”He shakes his head at Amy’s offer of the champagne again, and she nods in agreement, setting it down on the floor.

Shuffling until her legs are draped over Jake’s lap, Amy reaches for her husband’s phone and types in her brother’s profile.“Chris did the same thing earlier tonight - look, it’s the same photo I sent to you all those years ago.”Jake smiles, eyes taking on a faraway look as Amy continues.“Man, I was so _stupid_ back then.I was crushing so hard for you, and really thought that if I just put all my energy into my work, that it would just …. Go away, I guess.”

Jake nods, his arm wrapping further around Amy’s legs, rubbing the amazingly soft purls of wool between his fingers.“If only we’d been able to talk to each other about it … I would’ve warned you it was fruitless.I tried to forget how I felt about you for over a year.Obviously, it did _not_ go well.”

“Do you think if we had told the rookie detective versions of ourselves, sitting in that unmarked car down at the docks, that one day we’d spend our entire evening watching our daughter sleep, that we’d believe them?”

His chest constricting with a restrained snort, Amy feels Jake shake his head above her.“There is no way I would have believed it for a second.I would have _hoped_ , but …”

Wrapping one arm tight around Jake’s midsection, Amy looks up at her husband, genuinely wishing that even the smallest part of the amount of love she has for him right now is detectable in her gaze.“Lucky our heads caught up to our hearts, huh?”

Leaning in, Jake plants a gentle kiss against her lips.“I’m thankful every day.”

A muffled snore comes from the direction of the cot, and Mia stretches out her fists as she slips further into whatever dream she’s having.“Okay, seriously.Our daughter is literally the cutest baby ever to be born.”

“She really is.”And really, how else could they put it?She was tiny and beautiful and adorable and all those other words that always seemed to fail to come to mind when someone asks them to describe their daughter, because _how can you relegate something so life-changing to just a few words?_ She laughs, a deep-from-the-belly kind of laugh, whenever Amy pretended to have a sneezing fit in front of her.Smiles so brightly that even her godfather Ray finds himself smiling right back.Grips her parent’s fingers with the strength of an army - and Jake swears that their daughter somehow took a seminar in utero, because _she is her mother’s daughter_ \- but Amy already knows that truly, both of them were 100% wrapped around their daughter’s little finger from the moment she was born.

Mia was a tiny tyrant, but _their_ tiny tyrant; with deep brown eyes you could lose yourself in, messy curly hair, and a screaming voice louder than any infant had any right to have. But it only took one look from her: one slow blink, or the resting of her head on your shoulder, and suddenly everything was okay again.It took thirteen hours to birth her, and only one second to fall in completely in love, and Amy would do it all again in a heartbeat. 

As her eyelids begin to grow heavy, Amy rests her head against Jake’s shoulder, relaxing completely as the combined scent of his shower gel and their daughter’s baby powder fills her senses.Before they close completely, her eyes shift towards the framed picture of her and Jake on their very first New Years Eve together as a couple. _Oh, how far they’d come_.

It’s several hours before she opens her eyes again, ears picking up on an unfamiliar but persistent _pop_ sound coming from the window in their daughter’s room, and as her still-snoozing mind begins to wake up, Amy realises that both she and Jake had managed to sleep through it all. 

Jake’s head is heavy on her shoulder, and as Amy cups his jawline in her hand and begins dotting kisses to his hairline, he mumbles himself awake, shrugging when Amy tells him that they’ve missed counting in the New Year completely. 

His hand grips Amy’s steadily as she leads him over to the crib, neither able to resist the chance to check that their daughter was still just as perfect as she had been several hours ago, and with a stretch of his limbs Jake allows himself to be pulled away from the nursery, grabbing the baby monitor from the change table as he goes. 

Both are asleep again before their heads even hit the pillows, completely unfazed at missing the countdown.This house, after all, was going to be filled with celebrations for so many years to come - whether their family expands or they stay as a unit of three - that a new year simply meant a new beginning.The future was ripe with possibilities, and they couldn’t wait to see what was in store. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so _now_ this is really, truly the end. I've loved having the chance to look back on all the years of the two of them together, and I'm so grateful for all of you that stuck out the journey with me. It means more than you'll ever know ♥️
> 
> (chapter title from Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls ... and oldie, but a goodie.)
> 
> ALSO! The baby laughing at Mummy sneezing reference is from a video I found on instagram @goodnews_movement, which I should probably link to but I'm waaaay too tired to figure out the html for right now. But seriously, check it out if you can. It's _adorable_

**Author's Note:**

> More to come soon! I hope you're enjoying so far. Kudos/comments/all the above is always welcome in this house (but never expected!) xxx Chapter title is from The First Day of my Life, by Bright Eyes. Fic title is from Lucky Stars, by Busby Marou. ⭐️
> 
> Feel free to come say hey on Tumblr, I'm @amydancepants-peralta ✌🏼


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